


Protective

by Chelidona (Hobbity)



Category: The Mortal Instruments (Movies), Young Hercules
Genre: Age Difference, Fluff, Iolaus is very fluffy for someone with a very big mouth, It's all very fluffy really, Luke is very fluffy for someone who can beat the crap out of bad guys, M/M, Modern AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-02-18
Updated: 2017-10-02
Packaged: 2018-09-25 08:17:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 25,238
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9810974
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hobbity/pseuds/Chelidona
Summary: Fill for WinterFRE prompt Prompt 32: "I’m about to get beaten to a pulp and then you ride up on your Harley looking all badass and offering me a ride and them trip to the hospital."Iolaus is about to be beaten up by Ares, when Luke comes along and Iolaus' crush turns out to be a more serious problem than getting beaten up.





	1. Chapter 1

Iolaus had the worst of luck.

Not only had his parents, in honour of their Greek heritage, gifted him with the name Iolaus. They may as well have tattooed “target” onto their baby’s forehead; his name was a bully magnet. And that was before the bullies found out he was into boys.

His big mouth had never done him any favours either. Usually, he was alright. Hercules, his best friend since high school, was approximately twice as big as the bullies and surprisingly good at wrestling.

*

Only … Hercules got hurt in his last wrestling tournament. As a dutiful, and truly concerned, friend he had visited him in the hospital, fussing over the man until the nurses threw him out. Visiting hours, he was told, had been over an hour ago.

It was freezing cold outside; and the bus, he discovered, would only come in 20 minutes. By that time, he’d be frozen to an icicle. Much better to walk a few stops. The pavement was a bit slippery, some of the snow had turned into ice, that was hard to see in the dark.

He had forgotten how empty that street was at night. To the left was an area of small gardens, which were devoid of people now. Nobody in their right mind had a barbecue on a cold January night. To his right was a huge building site; the hospital had acquired the old terrace houses and was tearing them down to build a new, large treatment and research facility for cancer.

There were hardly any cars driving by either; most people from the area were home. Further up the road, behind the hospital, was a huge nursing home. Visiting hours there were long over too. An ambulance raced past him. Iolaus walked a bit faster; he saw some movement in the building site.

He began to feel chilly. Only from the cold, he told himself. He wasnt’ some kind of coward.

Then he heard the crunching of snow beside him, somebody approaching from the building site.

“Look, boys.”

He froze when he recognised that voice. Ares. Hercules half-brother and biggest bully this side of the alps.

And, unfortunately, while Ares could never hope to beat Hercules, Iolaus was a different matter. Iolaus turned around slowly. There was no point in running; Ares was faster than him.

Behind Ares’ bulking form, two of his cronies emerged.

“Hi there.” Iolaus tried to smile. Chances of getting out of this were slim.

“Did my brother get a visit from his little pet dog?”

“I am not his dog,” Iolaus hissed. “Unlike your little goons there.”

That, in hindsight, was a stupid thing to say.

He ducked when Ares took a swing.

“You know you will pay for this!” he threatened, trying to seem nonchalant in face of a certain trip back to the hospital; as a patient this time.

Ares did not dignify that with a reply; he kicked, Iolaus jumped and immediately slipped.

His fall was broken by the elbow of Ares' friend who slammed into his side sending him sideways. Iolaus crumpled onto the icy pavement, just managing to pull his arms in front of his face, when fists began raining down on him.

Breathe in and out, he reminded himself.

He tried to wrench himself away when Ares grabbed him. One of the goons grabbed him, and Ares put him into a stranglehold, his forearm cutting of Iolaus’ air supply.

“You’re going to give my brother a message,” Ares said lowly. “He’s going to stop busying himself with my affairs.”

As he was gasping for air, Iolaus began to feel dizzy. A deafening roar filled his ears while he was fighting unconsciousness.

 

The roaring stopped. It hadn’t been in Iolaus’ head after all. Iolaus turned his head as well he could to see what was going on. The biggest Harley Iolaus had ever seen was parked on the road above them and a man clad all in black leather was slowly getting off it, illuminated by the street light which reflected from his helmet.

“What is going on here.”

The man didn’t bother with an inflection. It was too obvious what was going on.

Ares growled. “None of your business.”

“Isn’t it?”

The man was walking down the little slope to the footpath, as if it wasn’t slippery from the snow at all. Ares kept Iolaus in his stranglehold, but his two friends walked over to the stranger, cracking their knuckles.

From his perspective, Iolaus couldn’t see much. He heard a scream and a thud, and saw one of Ares’ friends hitting the ground. The other retreated out of Iolaus’ eyesight, but then the stranger laughed harshly:

“You call this a knife? This is a knife!”

Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw the guy flicking a large butterfly knife open.

Ares shoved Iolaus aside and he crashed against the edge of the wooden fence, his head hitting the sharp edge.

He muffled his scream and screwed his eyes shut to block out the pain. When he opened them again, he saw Ares and one of his companion running away, Ares was limping and cursing, his friend was clutching his arm.

In the faint light, Iolaus could make out blood in the snow and shivered. From the cold, he told himself. He was sitting on the cold, snowy ground in jeans.

With some effort he hauled himself up, holding onto the flimsy fence.

“You alright?”

He blinked when he heard the surprisingly pleasant voice. The stranger didn’t sound half as threatening now.

“Fine,” he mumbled, trying not to look at the blood on the floor. Or the knife.

To Iolaus’ surprise, the stranger went to turn the unconscious man over, putting him into the recovery position with practised ease.

“Don’t want him to choke, that would be murder. I’m Luke,” the stranger said, turning his head to look down at Iolaus. “And you are?”

Iolaus stared at the man, who was taking his helmet off as he was speaking. A mess of dark curls appeared, with just one white strand standing out. And the beard covering his face was dense and beautiful and Iolaus was officially mesmerized. His tongue was tied.

“Come on then,” the man, Luke, said, tossing the helmet at Iolaus. “Where do you need to go?”

“Um …”

“Just put on the helmet, and let’s go then. Once you find your voice, you can tell me.”

Iolaus complied because he really couldn’t do anything else. He hopped onto the back of the bike. It only took a split second to decide not to hold on to the seat, before he boldly put his arms around his rescuer.

And off they went, certainly above the speed limit and only of them wearing a helmet. Luke raced along the street, taking a turn towards an area Iolaus wasn’t familiar with.

But he wasn’t afraid.

Finally the man stopped, outside of what looked like a bar.

He turned to Iolaus. “Are you over your shock now?”

“Yes,” Iolaus croaked. “I’m not a coward usually, I swear, I was just surprised and …”

“And outnumbered.” Luke shrugged. “So you’ve got a name?”

“Iolaus.”

“Can I drop you off somewhere Iolaus, or are you all right from here?”

“I’m not too sure where ‘here’ is,” Iolaus confessed. And then, because he always talked too much: “If you take me home, I could make you a coffee?”

Luke laughed. “Tempting. Where is home?”

What had he done? Iolaus tried feverishly to come up with a way to retreat. This man was clearly dangerous.

Luke’s eyebrows rose, as he was still waiting for an answer. Iolaus caved in and gave him the address of the flat he shared with Hercules.

Before they left, Luke made a quick phone call to some people in the bar, to explain he was not, after all, joining them for a drink. It all sounded so harmless, that Iolaus relaxed again.

*

Iolaus was only mildly embarrassed when he let the guy in; the man was a biker, it was unlikely that he had higher standards than either Hercules or Iolaus. They weren’t slobs, they just didn’t always tidy up. The dishes from the morning were still in the sink, and some dirty glasses and old snacks littered the living room. The floor of the living room was currently occupied by the textbooks for their chemistry classes and Iolaus’ messy notes.

Luke put the helmet on the table, as if he owned the place and looked round. He didn’t offer any comment, but when Iolaus tried to duck into the kitchen, he grabbed his arm.

“Do you have a first aid kit? You got a nasty gash.”

“Oh.” Iolaus lifted his hand and touched the side of his head, the source of a throbbing pain he had so far managed to ignore. His hair was sticky. “Oh. I must have made your helmet dirty.”

Luke scowled. “Don’t worry about the bleeding helmet. First aid kit?”

“Sure. It’s … it’s in the bathroom.”

 

In the bathroom, Luke got to work with a worrying amount of routine. Iolaus had to sit down on the edge of the bathtub, while Luke was gently cleaning the wound with a wet cloth. He had to bite his lips to remain quiet; Luke had to pull hair out of the wound and it hurt so much. But Luke was very attractive and he must already consider Iolaus to be a bit of a wimp, no way was he going to show any weakness now. Luke was done quickly.

“Any other injuries?”

“No … just a few bruises, I think.”

Now that the adrenaline had left Iolaus’ body, he had begun aching all over. But he could think of a way to make this better. He looked up at the older man through his eyelashes.

“You know, you could make me feel better.”

The confusion on Luke’s face was not very encouraging.

“There is nothing …” Luke began.

“What do you think I meant by coffee?” Iolaus crossed his arms and nearly lost his balance. Luke saved from tumbling into the tub, by quickly putting his arm around Iolaus’ waist. Good. That was a start.

“I thought you meant coffee,” Luke said patiently. “To refuel me.” But a small smile played around his mind.

“I meant that you could fuck me,” Iolaus explained. Obviously, with Luke he needed to speak plainly. “If you’re not into men, that’s fine, just …”

Luke looked at him, his eyes serious as he tucked a strand of blond hair behind Iolaus’ ear.

“That is not it. Iolaus, you are the most beautiful man I have ever seen, but you got knocked around pretty badly. I am not going to take advantage.”

“You’re not!” Iolaus protested. “You’re not!!! I want you to fuck my brains out, so I can forget about that nasty little incident and then you can hold me and I can feel safe!”

“Right.” Luke was obviously still not convinced, and the way he was drawing his brows together made Iolaus shiver slightly. After a moment of silence, Luke continued. “Look, I am not going to fuck you, whatever you say, you are not in the right state of mind to decide on that. But ….” and he put his hand on Iolaus’ mouth when he tried to protest, “…. if you really want me to, I can stay here and hold you. If it makes you feel safer tonight. And since you might have a head injury, you shouldn’t be alone tonight anyway.”

Iolaus nodded meekly. Some of the earlier excitement and arousal left him, and he remembered that Ares was very well aware where he lived. “That would be very nice of you.”

“Okay.” Luke smiled and took a step backwards. “But you’ll have to make me breakfast in the morning.”

“I make a mean scrambled egg,” Iolaus promised, some of his mood restored. Then he looked at Luke’s hands. “You injured yourself too.”

“Just a few scraped knuckles, I’ll be all right.”

 

He heard Luke on the phone with someone, while Iolaus got ready for bed in the bathroom. Did Luke actually have a partner? He was feeling too drowsy to really care, but a tiny spark of guilt fizzled in his brain, just to die out very quickly. Iolaus was hardly forcing Luke to stay.

It was only a tiny bit awkward to get into bed with this virtual stranger. Luke was still wearing his black shirt and it smelled of petrol, oil and smoke, but it also smelled, for lack of a better word, manly and comforting. He opened his arms and Iolaus put his head down on Luke’s chest, feeling the muscles move under his cheek. Strong arms closed around him and Luke’s chest rumbled when he whispered “Good night, Iolaus.”

He fell asleep almost instantly. 

*

In the morning, it took him a moment to orient himself. A gorgeous man was right next to him in bed. But nothing had happened. And his body was aching all over, but not in a good way.

He also vaguely remembered promising scrambled eggs for breakfast, and he sat up, grumbling to himself.

“Morning.” Luke was obviously already up and a bit too chipper. “What time is it?”

“Ugh.” Iolaus blinked and tried to focus on his phone, next to the bed. “7:30.”

“Shit.” Luke said up quickly. “My bookshop opens at 8:30.”

“Your what?”

“Bookshop.” Luke ruffled through his curls, making them even messier than before. Iolaus wanted nothing more than to comb them out with his fingers, but resisted. It was strangely intimate enough. “I own a second hand bookshop near university.”

This was surreal. The badass biker who beat up Ares and his two cronies was a bookshop owner? Luke was swinging his long legs out of bed, spurring Iolaus back to life.

“Right. I’m starting breakfast!!!”

 

He hurried to find a towel for Luke and then threw together a quick breakfast, including some eggs while the man showered.

“I still want you to fuck me,” Iolaus said boldly, once they finished breakfast. Luke laughed loudly.

“You need to work on your seduction skills.”

“It’s too late to convince you that I’m subtle, right?” Iolaus shrugged, feeling a bit embarrassed. “I came on to you last night.”

“Well, yes.”

“I just wanted to say I haven’t changed my mind, but I’m sorry for sulking. I mean I didn’t know if you’re into men or if you’re attached and … thank you for being considerate and not taking advantage.”

“Don’t thank me for not being a bastard.”

“You did save me though,” Iolaus pointed out, not too happy that Luke hadn’t answered his implicit question about his possible attachment. “Ares would have messed me up.”

“You knew those guys?”

“Yeah …. he’s my flatmate’s half brother … and mortally jealous of Hercules, plus some other stuff between them, so I guess he wanted to send a message.”

“I know the type.” Luke sighed. “Glad I was there to stop them.”

“Not as glad as me.” Iolaus grinned. “I want to make it up to you?”

“Don’t.” Luke fiddled with the teaspoon in his hand. The disappointment must have been plain on Iolaus’ face, because Luke smiled. “I mean, don’t feel obliged to me, please?”

“I just don’t want you to think that I’m a total wimp or that I can’t take care of myself … I mean I am not as good as you or Hercules at fighting against three guys at once, but I am not a coward, and I ….”

“I didn’t think you were,” Luke interrupted him. “Most people can’t take on three guys at once. You might want to be a bit more careful where you walk at night and about letting strangers into your house when you’re injured, but other than that …”

“You had saved me,” Iolaus pointed out. “It was reasonable to assume you were safe and better than being alone in the situation.”

“Fair enough.” Luke laughed. “I need to head out now, thank you for breakfast.”

“Can I have your phone number?” Iolaus put on his best puppy face. “I need to properly thank you.”

“You don’t. But you can have it anyway.”

Luke pulled an old fashioned business card out of his wallet. A business card. This man was full of surprises. But it contained a mobile phone number, so that was good enough.

*

Because Iolaus was never one to waste any time, he called Luke right after he finished his last class at university. To his surprise, the man answered.

He laughed again when Iolaus asked if he had time and told him to swing by his bookshop. It wasn’t too far from university, so Iolaus hurried over, bearing two large rum truffles from the cafeteria as gifts.

The big Harley was parked out front of a typical, old fashioned second hand bookshop, with a display of old picture books and encyclopedias on display outside. The shop window as cluttered with books as well, but there was enough of a gap to see Luke inside, in conversation with two women.

He opened the door carefully, he was always a bit wary around old and possibly valuable books and prints. The older woman tilted her head when he came in and smiled, before she turned to Luke.

“That is the young man you were talking about?”

“That’s him, yes.” Luke smiled. “Iolaus, that’s Jocelyn and her daughter Clary.”

They stared at him and the younger one, Clary, chuckled as she looked him over. Iolaus tried to grin to hide how confused he was.

“Nice to meet you?”

Clary smiled brightly at him.

“It’s nice to meet you, Luke told us all about your adventure. Isn’t he great in emergencies?”

“Yes, yes he is.”

He finally looked at Luke and smiled. Luke seemed as abashed as he was.

“We had wondered where he disappeared to last night,” Clary went on brightly. “But I can see that …”

Whatever the teenager was about to suggest, was cut off when her mother put a restraining hand on her shoulder.

Jocelyn smiled. “It’s nice to meet you, Iolaus, and good to see that you seem to be all right after that attack.” She shook her head. “I always tell Clary to be careful where she walks at night, this town might be safer than others, but you just never know.”

“Yes, mum.”

“I mean it! Luke is not always there to save you all!”

Iolaus clutched the bag with his rum truffles, looking from mother to daughter to Luke. He hadn’t expected to be made an example of carelessness. Luke cleared his throat now.

“Jocelyn, you know Clary is careful, and Iolaus was on his way home from visiting a friend at the hospital. Cut him some slack.”

“I didn’t mean to accuse anyone,” Jocelyn apologized. “I’m sorry. Clary and I need to get going now, she stills needs a dress for the party.”

“Sure. Thank you Jocelyn.”

Iolaus mumbled his goodbyes, when Clary was still promising Luke to send him pictures for his approval.

 

When they left, Iolaus heard Clary whisper to her mother “He really looks angelic.”

It was a good thing, Iolaus didn’t have a tendency to blush. And Luke obviously hadn’t heard them, he was busying himself with something behind the counter.

“Sorry,” he said now, looking a bit flustered. “Jocelyn is an old friend from school, she and Clary are living with me at the moment. And she helps me with finding customers.”

“I see.” Iolaus scrutinized Luke again. He knew the other man was older than him, but he hadn’t quite realised how old until now, when he talked about a former classmate and her teenage daughter.

Luke didn’t seem to notice, he held up an old print of the lake with the mountains in the background. “She just found a buyer for this, I need to package it and send it. Isn’t it gorgeous?”

Suddenly he smiled and Iolaus forgot all about his age. “Here, do you want to help me? I’d consider it payment for any help I rendered you last night.”

The wink was Iolaus’ undoing and he let Luke explain what to do.

 

In the shop he appeared much gentler than on a Harley clad in black leather. There was still a certain fierceness in his eyes and his voice was passionate when he talked about his prints and his books, but there was also the tenderness with which he touched them. It reminded Iolaus of the way he had taken care of his wound and he wondered again how a bookshop owner could also be a badass biker.

Somehow, they began discussing what to eat for dinner, and Iolaus suggested getting pizza. There was a great place near his building.

They wound up in Iolaus’ flat again, sitting on the living room floor and sharing a giant family pizza and talking about the relative merits of pizza toppings and of friends.

 

When it was nearly midnight, Luke asked if he should leave. Iolaus ducked his head.

“I’d like you to stay? Is that all right?”

“Sure.” Luke smiled and wiped his fingers on his jeans. “But I’m only holding you again.”

Iolaus pouted, but then he felt gentle fingers on his cheeks.

“Not because I don’t want to do more,” Luke whispered. “You’re very attractive, Iolaus. But you’re still not completely restored. Let’s wait.”

“I am in full possession of my mental faculties, thank you ever so much. We didn’t even drink any alcohol.”

“But you’re still shaken. And you still know nothing about me.”

“Don’t get me wrong …” Iolaus tilted his head to scrutinize Luke. “I like you. You’re charming and you’re magnetic. But you’re also the most gorgeous man I’ve ever laid eyes on, so I don’t need to know that much about you to know I want you inside me.”

“Thank you.” Luke got up and pulled Iolaus up with him. “But maybe you’ll just be disappointed. I’m quite boring.”

“You most definitely are not! You …”

“I love driving my Harley and I know a thing or two about sorting out bad guys.” Luke’s mouth was pulled tight. “But I try to live a lawful life these days. My ex-boyfriend … he was bad news and I got caught up in some of his activities, but … that’s the past. So if you’ve got a thing for ‘bad boys’ or something immature like that …”

“I don’t!” Iolaus protested immediately, just to blush. “All right, a little. Just the aesthetic. You look smashing on your bike, all badass. But I mostly appreciate that you saved me, a total stranger, from three bullies, and then you treated my wound very carefully, and refused to take advantage. You blew that bad boy image pretty quickly.”

Luke didn’t say anything, he just pulled Iolaus into a gentle hug and kissed his head, right next to the small gash.

 

They were just holding each other again during the night. Iolaus had a hard time sleeping, trying to come up with a plot to keep Luke in his bed for the rest of his days. Nothing had ever felt quite as right as sharing a bed with Luke. He was strong and dependable, like Hercules, but he was also gentle and mature, like a rock Iolaus hadn’t known he needed.

*

The next morning was less awkward, they got up a bit earlier and Luke gave him a chaste little good morning kiss. Iolaus was actually disappointed to get a text from Hercules that said he was being released from the hospital and would come home. There went his excuse to have Luke over again. Still, he told Luke that Hercules would come back, so he wouldn’t need protection anymore but also claimed that Hercules wanted to meet the man who had saved his best friend. He made Luke promise to come over for dinner to meet Hercules. To his slight surprise, Luke agreed immediately.

 

He still wasn’t sure what exactly they were doing. Was that dating? He never had a relationship, his sole experiences were some hasty one night stands. But he also didn’t dare to ask Luke, who had so much more experience. It just seemed that Luke didn’t mind being close to Iolaus, and that was enough. Well, not quite enough, Iolaus would like him to get much closer, but it was good nevertheless.

 

He just wondered what he could offer a man like that. Iolaus was studying ecology, because Hercules and him loved the outdoors and wanted to protect nature, they spent too much time practicing wrestling and trekking and not enough studying, they occasionally tried to curb Ares’ less lawful activities without involving the police (and that was probably something Luke would consider immature), and Iolaus was known to be too rash. The only thing he had going for him were his looks, which he knew to be quite fine. And an ability to rouse a protective instinct in Luke, which he fully intended to exploit. Not to mention his quick wit. He firmly pushed the self doubt back into the darkest corners of his mind.

 

He made sure to call Luke in the evening again, to tell him how well Hercules was and how he was going to miss Luke in bed. Luke seemed amused by that, but he didn’t immediately offer to rectify the situation. However, he did invite Iolaus to drop into his shop with rum truffles any time. So Iolaus did that right the next day. This time Luke was alone and Iolaus did some of his home work in the corner of the shop, while Luke worked on his accounts and served some customers.

He had to concentrate hard on his calculations, because looking up and seeing Luke was just too distracting.

“Are you finished?” Iolaus startled when he was suddenly addressed.

“Yes?” he tried, even though he wasn’t.

“Good, I should close the shop now.” Luke smiled. “Fancy dinner afterwards?”

“YES!”

Iolaus hastily packed his bag, just shoving his books in.

 

He waited impatiently while Luke closed the shutters of his shop. When Luke turned to him, the man seemed a bit bashful.

“Just before we go …. how old are you?”

“21.” That wasn’t true for another five months, but closer to what Luke probably wanted to hear. And Luke’s eyebrows contracted to his fierce scowl.

“I thought so. I’m 35. Just so you know.”

“Great.” That was a lot younger than Iolaus had feared after seeing Jocelyn. “We’re both adults then.”

Luke laughed and the lines on his brow smoothed instantly. “In your case, barely. But good enough.”

“Cheers. Dinner?”

“I know just the place.”

This time, Luke had two helmets ready and Iolaus was also in a better state to appreciate the elation that was riding behind Luke on his Harley.

 

The place Luke had in mind was the newly renovated restaurant just above town. It had a wonderful view, but the best thing was that it was next to the forest and there were not many people about. Luke parked in the darkest corner of the parking lot, where they were out of sight.

Iolaus wasn’t afraid, not with Luke by his side. When they had taken their helmets off and had both shaken their curls out, Luke grabbed Iolaus’ hips and pulled him close. Just when Iolaus’ arms locked around Luke’s neck, Luke pressed his rough lips against Iolaus’ mouth.

The phone in his pocket vibrated, probably Hercules wondering what he was doing, but he ignored it in favour of pressing into Luke’s warm, tall body and exploring those wonderful curls and that wonderful beard with his fingers, gently combing through the mass of hair, feeling the tingle spreading from the tips of his fingers through his whole body.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> For some reason these two wouldn't leave my mind, so this is the start of Luke and Iolaus exploring what could be between them.

Iolaus was sulking slightly when Luke broke their perfectly lovely kiss.

“Are you that hungry?” he demanded. It was too dark to see very well by now, but he could tell that Luke smiled, even while he was putting his hand on Iolaus’ lower back (not low enough) and pushed him towards the restaurant.

“Actually, yes,” he said easily.

“Really? After that kiss? You just want to eat?”

Luke sighed audibly. “What was your plan? Public sex in a parking lot? It’s a bit cold for that, no?”

“Well, yes, you’re right.”

Iolaus had not really thought this through. What else was new? He followed Luke into the restaurant, and they found a table right at the window; they were lucky, the waiter told them, usually those tables were booked out, but the couple that had booked the table had just cancelled.

It was a beautiful view over the whole city; Iolaus had trouble appreciating that, though, he was too distracted by the beautiful view of the man he was with.

He had never met anyone quite like Luke. There was something so mesmerising about the man; at first he had just wanted to get Luke into his bed because frankly, it had been hot to see him take on 3 men and win. But there was something about this other side of Luke, this gentleness, that drew him in even more.

He noticed he was distracted when Luke’s foot nudged him under the table.

“Sorry?”

“Have you decided what you want to eat?”

That was when Iolaus noticed the waiter hovering at the table and he quickly ordered the first thing he saw on the menu; that happened to be wok massaman and he had no idea what that even was.

As it turned out, it was a very spicy curry and while Iolaus struggled through it, he was not really able to hold a conversation. Luke teased him gently, and Iolaus gave him half-hearted glares.

Iolaus insisted on splitting the bill, ignoring generously that he barely had enough money left to buy food for the rest of the month. He should have pointed that out before they even went to the restaurant. His pride would not allow him to let Luke pay now; the man was 15 years older and had saved him from bullies, Iolaus felt he already had enough of a disadvantage, he didn’t want Luke to pay for him as well.

Back at the bike, he put his arms around Luke before Luke could even get the helmets out. The taller man chuckled and he placed a kiss on Iolaus’ forehead. That was not where Iolaus had wanted the kiss. He grabbed Luke’s face with one hand to angle it down and pressed his mouth against Luke’s.

Luke opened his lips in surprise and Iolaus took full advantage, sliding his tongue in Luke’s warm mouth.

The moment was broken when Iolaus phone vibrated again. Luke pulled away.

“Maybe you should take that? That’s the third call you’ve got.”

Iolaus rolled his eyes but pulled his phone out of his pocket. Of course it was Hercules, that busybody.

“Yes?”

“Iolaus! Where the hell are you!”

“I’m at The Huntsman.”

“What?”

“I had dinner with Luke? The guy I met?”

“Did you seriously forget that Jason was coming over tonight?”

“Fuck.”

“Yeah. Some friend you are. You were both supposed to cheer me up.”

“Sorry.” Iolaus was feeling a bit torn. But then loyalty won. “I’ll be right there, sorry mate.”

He hung up and looked at Luke. It was almost pitch black.

“I forgot I was supposed to play videogames with Hercules and Jason tonight.”

Luke nodded and handed Iolaus his helmet. “Then hop on, I’ll get you there as quickly as possible.”

That obviously meant that, once more, speed limits were completely ignored as they raced down the street leading down from the forest and past the hospital again where they first met.

It only took Luke 10 minutes to make it to Iolaus’ home.

Iolaus was feeling bashful, a feeling he was not accustomed to and resented.

“Do you want to come in?” he asked when he handed Luke the helmet. Luke smiled, the streetlight bringing out the contrast between his olive skin and his almost black hair. But he was shaking his head slightly.

“I don’t think that’s the appropriate situation, I don’t want to impose.”

“You wouldn’t!” Iolaus protested.

“You promised your friends to spend the evening with them,” Luke reminded him.

“But … I’ll see you again, right? And you promised to come to dinner and meet Hercules?”

Luke laughed and tousled Iolaus’ hair.

“Of course. Call me tomorrow?”

“Right!”

Iolaus felt his mouth widening to a huge grin, but all he could do was quickly squeeze Luke’s arm, before he sped off to meet the combined wrath of Hercules and Jason.

They were most definitely not amused. Hercules was sitting cross-legged on the couch, Jason was leaning against it on the floor and they both glared at him when he came inside.

“So good of you to join us,” Jason said sweetly.

Hercules frowned a bit more, and then he seemed to realise something. “Did you really get here from The Huntsman that quickly?”

Iolaus shrugged, grabbing an energy drink from the table. “Luke’s got a Harley.”

“Woa, nice!” Jason forgot all about the game to give Iolaus his full attention. “Which model?”

“Um, not sure, it’s not very new,” Iolaus hedged. Maybe he should have asked Luke. There was plenty of time for small talk in the restaurant, where they had mostly been silent.

He fielded several more of Jason’s questions about the Harley, sipping on his energy drink and trying to ignore Hercules’ growing annoyance.

When Jason ran out of questions, Hercules levelled Iolaus with a glare.

“So you met this guy when he saved you from Ares.”

“As I told you multiple times, yes.”

“And then you followed him like a puppy.”

“I did not.”

“You did. And then you wound up having dinner with him?”

Iolaus finally sat down, on the opposite end of the couch.

“Well, I visited him in his shop and …”

“And this is something that I wonder about,” Hercules interrupted him. “First of all, a second hand bookshop. Seriously? And secondly, how old is that guy to own a dusty bookshop?”

“He’s 35.” Iolaus shrunk a bit, while trying to remain nonchalant. “But very well preserved.”

“35?” Jason shook his head. “Iolaus, you’re barely mature enough to hang with us. What the fuck does an actual adult want to do with you?”

“Cheers, mate. That hurt.”

“He’s right though.” Hercules puppy face was full with worry. “That sounds creepy, Iolaus.”

“Luke’s not creepy.” Iolaus straightened himself again. “I practically begged him to fuck me and he didn’t.”

Both his friends winced.

“Too much information, Iolaus!”

“Don’t talk crap about Luke then. He’s a good guy, and I want to get to know him better.”

Silence descended. Jason boxed him.

“That … that almost sounded mature.”

Iolaus rubbed his arm where Jason had hit him.

“Very funny.”

“So are we actually going to meet this creepy old man?” Hercules asked.

Iolaus gave him his most charming smile.

“I actually told him you’d like to invite him for dinner, Herc. To get to know him.”

“You what?” Hercules put his head in his hands. “You said I’d like to invite him for dinner? I am not your dad, Iolaus!”

“He knows you’re not!”

“You made me sound like I’m your guardian or something! Invite him for dinner!”

Jason bit his lip. “Let’s hope he likes pasta.”

“Everybody likes pasta.” Iolaus leant back against the couch. “What’s the big deal? We’ll whip up some spagbol, nothing can go wrong with that.”

“And you can serve some wine from a plastic bottle in your water glasses,” Jason added. “It will be very posh.”

“What’s wrong with beer?”

“It’s not what old people drink with pasta.”

“Luke’s not old! 35’s not old!”

“Old enough to drink wine,” Jason said sagely. He was 3 years older than them and liked to pretend he had superior knowledge of the world. Iolaus slapped the back of his head.

“Shut it, Mister ‘I can only do chicken salad.’ Weren’t we supposed to play games?”

Iolaus waved a hand towards the console. Jason and Hercules shared a look that said “we’ll tease him more later” and picked up their game.

***

When Luke rode home, he actually kept to the speed limit, driving as carefully as Jocelyn always wanted him to. There was hardly any traffic, allowing his mind to roam and curse himself for being tempted by that young man.

Iolaus was entirely too beautiful and too adorable, and too willing. But he was also 21, a good 14 years younger than himself.

His own flat was only 15 minutes away from Iolaus’, on the outskirts of town. He and Jocelyn had shared the flat for the last 12 years. For a long time, he had fancied himself in love with her, but had recently come to the conclusion that while Jocelyn and Clary were the most important people in his life, his attachment to Jocelyn was not romantic. He couldn’t tell if she had been disappointed or relieved when he told her, but he had felt it would be best to finally talk about the elephant in the room.

When he saw that the light was still on in the kitchen, he regretted that his romantic and sexual life had recently become an ok topic to discuss. She had already made some veiled comments about the youth of that angelic young man.

And true to form, as soon as he entered, he heard her call from the kitchen.

“And where have you been?”

“Mum!” Clary called from her room. “Leave him alone.”

“Cheers, Clary!” he called back, although he suspected Clary’s motivation was her reluctance to picture him in any romantic entanglement. Knowing Jocelyn, he joined her in the kitchen as soon as he had disposed of his jacket.

While he waited for her inevitable question, he busied himself with the coffee-machine.

“Have you been with Iolaus again?”

He considered, for a fleeting moment, to lie about his whereabouts. But then he sighed and turned around.

“We had dinner together after he visited the shop again. In a restaurant this time.”

Jocelyn pursed her lips. “And have you figured out how old he is?”

“21,” Luke admitted.

“21. Five years older than Clary.”

“I know.” Luke sighed and leant against the tabletop. “He’s very young, but …”

“But what? Luke, I …” Her stern demeanour crumbled. “You spent the last 12 years helping me with Clary and you put your own life on hold, and you know we are both grateful, and …”

“How often do I need to tell you, there’s nothing to be grateful for?” Luke interrupted her before she could spell out his own nagging worries. “I love you and Clary. You’re family. Could you try not to cheapen that by pretending the last 12 years were a terrible sacrifice for me?”

She chuckled. “I’m sorry. But seriously, Luke, be careful? I’d be delighted if you found someone right for you, but …”

“You don’t know Iolaus.”

“No,” she conceded. “Don’t rush anything though?”

“I won’t,” he assured her. “I’ve learnt my lesson.”

He knew exactly what she was going to say; his last relationship had ended when he was 22, and it hadn’t exactly been healthy. He had wondered himself if his attraction to somebody as young as Iolaus was some sort of sign that his romantic development was stunted; at 35 he should look for a partner closer to him in age, somebody with maturity and experience.

When he got a “good night” text from Iolaus later, he was still too caught up in his worries to answer.

 

In the morning, he felt guilty for not replying and sent a text claiming that he had been asleep already.

_Great, now he’s going to think you’re a boring old man_ he berated himself. But Iolaus answered almost immediately, writing that he was on his way to university, and when would they meet again?

So he probably didn’t plan on dropping by the shop again, which would be good for Luke to actually find some time to think about this whole thing.

And it was hard to think when Iolaus was actually there, with his blue puppy eyes, shining with adoration and desire, his deep dimples, his messy blond curls, and that very distracting bum.

He answered that Iolaus should just call him after he was done with his classes.

 

Luke still spent much of the afternoon peering out of his shop window and looking for that mop of blond hair. Just when a lone customer had left the shop, his phone rang, making him jump. Of course it was Iolaus.

“Hey.”

“Hey.” He could practically hear Iolaus’ smile through the phone.

“Do you remember that you promised to come for dinner?”

“Yes?” Luke did and it was already unnerving him.

“Well … would you have time this weekend? Our plans just fell through … we meant to go hiking but it’s going to be pissing down in the mountains.”

Luke laughed softly. “So you might as well get it over with?”

“No! Of course not, I’m so sorry, I really want you to come? Do you have time?”

Luke considered lying; his life was so boring it could only turn a young student off. But he went with honesty. 

“I don’t have any plans for the weekend so far, apart from reading and cooking.”

“Well, let me do the cooking on Saturday? I can only do pasta, though. Do you like pasta?”

“With anything but olives.”

“No olives, got it. “

“I could bring the wine if you like.”

“Oh, yes, please!”

Luke wondered what had just happened on Iolaus’ end, because he sounded a bit too happy about that simple question. He ended the call and then he realised that Saturday was, in fact, only two days away.

Two days in which he could worry about whether or not to pursue whatever it was between Iolaus and him.

***

The dinner began a bit too well; Iolaus should have known that was the calm before the storm. Luke seemed to like the spaghetti Iolaus had served, and he hadn’t even raised an eyebrow when they had to use ordinary glasses for the red wine Luke had brought. 

Iolaus wasn’t a huge fan of red wine, but it was okay. Luke looked ravishing, a brown waistcoat over his plaid shirt. He was wearing leather pants and had worn a very nice leather jacket when he came in; driving a Harley in the winter was a bit chilly he explained. Not that Iolaus needed any explanation, he could just appreciate how nice Luke looked.

Hercules and Luke had a friendly conversation about wrestling, and Iolaus didn’t pay a lot of attention, he kept one hand firmly on Luke’s thigh, enjoying the warmth of Luke’s body, while he was concentrating on not making too big of a mess while he was eating. Spaghetti sauce all over his face and shirt was hardly sexy.

So he missed the dangerous turn the conversation took; Hercules had begun chatting about his adventures with Iolaus. And how much fun they had last year on their joint 20th birthday celebration. Hercules birthday was only a month earlier than Iolaus’ and they had celebrated together.

“Don’t you mean 21st?” Luke asked, turning to Iolaus with suspicion gleaming in his eyes.

“No - for our 21st we’re going to do something much more spectacular!” Hercules seemed completely oblivious to the way Luke’s lips thinned. “We already booked a chalet in the mountains for that - it’s going to be epic!”

“I am sure it will be,” Luke said politely. Too politely.

Hercules finally cottoned on to the tension.

“Did I say something wrong?”

Iolaus looked resolutely at his plate. “I kind of told Luke I’m 21. No big deal.”

“No.” Luke’s voice sounded as pleasant as before, but Iolaus could feel that he was still tense. “Whereabouts are you going to go?”

While Hercules happily outlined their search for the appropriate chalet - it needed to be somewhere outside a village, where people didn’t complain about the noise, which wasn’t too hard to reach by car because none of them were good drivers but they needed a car for all the beer, but where they also could go on epic treks and climbs through the mountains. Sober, of course.

 

Luke insisted on helping with the washing up and they were done in no time. They watched a film together, as planned, but rather contrary to Iolaus’ plans he was about as intimate with Luke as he was with Hercules while they were watching it. He was sitting between them on the couch and Luke was very much not touching him and nothing in his demeanour indicated that he’d welcome any advance.

Nevertheless, Iolaus regained some of his spirit and entered into some of his usual banter with Hercules while they were watching it which resulted, as it so often did, with them jostling each other, even though Iolaus was careful because of Hercules’ recent injury. Luke even seemed to be a bit amused by them.

 

But after the film Luke insisted he was tired. Iolaus looked up at him.

“You know you could sleep here, right?”

“I don’t think so …”

“Please?”

Before Luke could answer Hercules shot up from his place on the couch and mumbled something about “bathroom.”

Luke waited for Hercules to get out of the room and Iolaus heard the door to Hercules’ room close. Not the bathroom.

“Why did you lie to me, Iolaus?”

Iolaus ducked his head. “It’s not a total lie? I’m going to be 21 this year?”

“Well I’m going to be 36 in May. When’s your birthday?”

“June,” Iolaus admitted.

“You knew I wasn’t asking what age you’re going to be in the summer!” Luke pushed his hand through his messy hair. “Seriously, Iolaus, I …”

“What difference does it make? It’s only five months out of 15 years!”

He really didn’t like the way Luke winced.

“Iolaus. You don’t think 15 years is … a bit much?”

“No.” Iolaus crossed his arms. “I like you. You don’t look like 35 and anyway, I don’t care that you’re a bit older than me.”

“A bit.” Luke’s voice was too deadpan. Iolaus crossed his arms even harder.

“It’s not like you could be my father. Well technically, I guess you were capable of fathering a child 20 years ago, but …”

“Not the point, Iolaus.”

It was always a bad sign if somebody said his name that often.

“I know.” He made a conscious effort to uncross his arms and look less like a pouting child. “I’m sorry, alright? I just … I thought 21 sounded better than 20 and I really just wanted to have a chance with you.”

Luke rubbed his face, but didn’t answer. When the silence stretched too long, Iolaus poked him tentatively.

“Luke?”

“I’m really not happy about this.”

“It’s not like I pretended I was 25 or 28 or something. I added five months!”

“It’s the fact that you lied to me! I asked you a straight question and you lied to me.”

“Sorry. It was just …”

“… just very immature,” Luke finished the sentence for him. Iolaus winced.

“That’s harsh.”

Luke was silent again. This was beginning to wear Iolaus’ nerves down. He took a deep breath and put on his best puppy face.

“Will you stay the night anyway? Even if we don’t do anything - again?”

He couldn’t help but add the last bit; it was starting to get really frustrating to be always this close to Luke without any shagging actually happening. Luke wavered for a moment, then he smiled slightly.

“Alright. I’ll just have to send Jocelyn a message, she worries.”

Iolaus refrained from rolling his eyes; he still felt on unsure territory when it came to Jocelyn. Luke was living with her and her daughter and appeared to have raised Clary. The woman was involved with his business. She was practically Luke’s wife, just without the romance and the sex.

*

When Luke came from the bathroom, Iolaus was still sitting on the edge of the bed.

Luke sat down next to him and put an arm around Iolaus’ waist. Obviously comforted, Iolaus leant against him.

“I’m sorry I wasn’t completely honest about my age.”

“It were only five months,” Luke conceded. “But can you … not do that in future?”

He froze when he realised what he had just implied. Iolaus dimples appeared again, almost hesitantly.

“So … there is a future?”

Luke groaned and rubbed his face.

“You tell me. I haven’t had a relationship in 13 years. Friends don’t usually share kisses or beds, though. And flings have sex.”

“Well …” Iolaus tilted his head so he could look straight at Luke. “I still really, really want you to fuck me.”

“And you’re going to keep me around until that happens?”

“No!” Iolaus almost tripped over the single word. “No. I also just really, really want you to hold me and I like just watching you.”

“That’s good.” Luke tightened his grip on Iolaus’ waist. “I like being around you, too.”

“Just being around me?” Iolaus asked, sneaking his own arm around Luke’s front. “Because I …”

“You told me just now,” Luke stopped him with a quick kiss on his temple and began to play with Iolaus’ hair. “I know.”

“Are you … are you into sex at all?” Iolaus asked almost timidly. “Only, I just learnt that some people are not and …”

“And a few days ago, I told you that I’d want to do more, if you were in the right state and I kissed you a few days back. If I was asexual I’d be a bit of a bastard to lead you on like that.”

“True.”

“But …” Luke said hastily, there was no mistaking the gleam in Iolaus’ eyes, “I’m not in the mood now. Sorry.”

That was a bit of a lie; feeling Iolaus’ heat and softness against him set his nerves on fire, and Luke’s body urged him to just give into the temptation of those lush lips and sparkling eyes, to bury his hands into those golden waves, but it didn’t feel like the right moment to do so.

Iolaus sighed audibly, but accepted it with a little nod, his eyes downcast. He lifted the covers and they both quickly slid into the bed. Luke didn’t waste any time pulling Iolaus’ in his arms. He pressed a firm kiss on Iolaus’ forehead.

“Good night.”

Iolaus softly kissed the crook of Luke’s neck and Luke really hoped he didn’t notice the goosebumps he caused.

Apparently not. Iolaus just snuggled a bit closer.

 

While Iolaus was soon sleeping peacefully, Luke’s brain wouldn’t let him go to sleep.

It was silly, but 20 did sound so much younger than 21. Jocelyn was probably right and he should back off, as much for Iolaus’ sake as for his own. He looked down at the mop of blond hair on his chest.

Only … Iolaus was also very funny and adorable, and Luke hadn’t allowed himself any indulgences since he had taken over responsibility for Clary. Iolaus was a breath of fresh air, and an adult who made his intentions very clear.

As a second-hand bookshop owner in his thirties, who was raising another man’s child with his best friend, it wasn’t that easy to get to know new people, especially because Luke wasn’t the type to chat up people in a bar or let himself be chatted up when he was out with friends. It really would be stupid to forgo the opportunity to date another consenting adult on principle. Chances are it wouldn’t work out anyway, but until then, he should just let himself enjoy the way Iolaus’ warm body felt against him, the way Iolaus’ unruly hair was tangling with Luke’s beard and the certain knowledge that there would be kisses in the morning.


	3. Morning glory

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is a little bit that was supposed to be just the beginning of chapter 3, but thanks to the kink bingo prompt "Handjobs" I expanded what was originally meant to be five sentences or so.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Beta read by Lakritzwolf, one of the erotica queens, thank you so much!

Iolaus woke up when the some rays of sun poked through the blinds. He resolutely shut his eyes again, reached for the blanket and pulled it over his head while he snuggled closer to Luke. 

The best thing about Sundays, apart from the lack of classes, was the opportunity to sleep in. Saturday came with shopping and other nasty duties. Sunday however, was the day of the week on which Iolaus refused to do anything but be lazy. And, maybe, do some catching up on his studies. Which he had kind of neglected, since a handsome, badass yet gentle biker had rescued him and swept him off his feet.

The handsome biker, 15 years his senior, who was sleeping next to him, his chest rising and falling evenly.

Iolaus’ head jolted when Luke stretched.

“Iolaus?”

“No.”

Luke chuckled, though his voice was still rough from sleep. “What time is it?”

“Too early.” Then he remembered something from their conversation from the night before. When Luke hadn’t been in the mood for anything but sleeping and cuddling. “Unless you’re in the mood now.”

“Give me time to wake up,” Luke protested, his voice vibrating from his chest through Iolaus’ body.

“Hm.” Iolaus discreetly peered down to see if Luke sported any morning glory. And yes, the blanket was dented.

It didn’t mean that Luke was actually in the mood for sex, of course, but Iolaus pushed slightly closer, just enough for Luke to really feel Iolaus’ own hard erection. He let his hand slide down Luke’s side as slowly as he could manage, taking time to enjoy the ridges of hard muscles.

“What if I do the work?”

When he looked up through his eyelashes, he noticed a slight blush creeping over Luke’s face, and had to bite down a grin. 

“Iolaus?”

Iolaus slipped his hand just a little bit under Luke’s shirt, to scratch the skin right above Luke’s briefs.

“Just some kissing and getting off?” He offered, his voice as deep as he could managed without sounding silly.

A soft sigh, but then Luke rolled over to face him, smiling and bumping their foreheads together.

“Sounds like a plan.”

Iolaus was too stunned by the easy approval to react, so Luke put his arm firmly around Iolaus’ waist to pull him even closer and into a soft kiss.

Their legs entwined, they moved their lips leisurely; both had not much energy after just waking up.

 

Luke’s hand began to slide down, very slowly, following Iolaus’ spine, sending tingles all through his body. His breath was coming out in harsh gasps when Luke’s hand ghosted over his bottom, barely touching, but appreciating the roundness.

He let his own hand roam cautiously under Luke’s shirt. Luke’s skin was warm and soft at his flank, but when Iolaus’ fingers moved across the flat expanse of Luke’s muscles, he soon encountered the crisp, rough hair of a treasure trail, and began to play with the coarse hair. He heard Luke chuckle lightly into their slow kiss, just before Luke moved his mouth to lick and nibble along Iolaus’ jaw. Luke’s hand was now firmly planted on Iolaus’ bottom and Iolaus did his best to suppress the tiny little noises that escaped him, his breath quickening.

Then, Luke let his hand slide over Iolaus’ hip. Iolaus jerked it forward, a jolt of arousal shocking him when Luke just touched the sensitive skin over his hipbone. He tensed, when he felt Luke’s hand cupping his length.

“Wait …” Iolaus whispered, he was already too close. “Let me get you off first.”

“Alright then.” Luke shifted to allow Iolaus’ easier access. The gesture nearly made Iolaus come anyway.

He quickly slid his hand out from under Luke’s shirt and palmed the hardness under Luke’s briefs. Gratified, he heard Luke gasping silently. His own pulse was still making him dizzy, but he managed to push Luke’s brief’s down and to grasp Luke’s erection.

His fingers wrapped tightly around the warm, hard flesh he started by giving it an experimental pump. Luke’s hips bucked slightly and Iolaus gave in to the temptation of nuzzling Luke’s neck, licking and sucking along Luke’s throat, delighted when the action made Luke moan quietly.

He sped up his pace, his fingers already slickened and sliding as he swiped his thumb firmly over the wet head. His hand slipped awkwardly, but he kept up his rhythm. He was twisting his hand now, pumping the larger man’s cock. Luke turned his head to bury his face in Iolaus’ hair and panted heavily. Iolaus was still lavishing attention on Luke’s neck, even though he could hardly breathe now, his nose practically buried under Luke’s head.

Luke’s hands held on to Iolaus shoulders, hindering Iolaus’ movements, but both didn’t care. Iolaus twisted his shoulders slightly to ease his movements, enjoying the feeling of Luke so close to him, feeling the pressure of Luke’s fingers as pleasure coursed through him. Pleasure Iolaus gave him.

It didn’t take long, until Luke’s fingers clawed into Iolaus’ shoulder and he came all over Iolaus’ chest.

Luke rolled onto his back, looking at the ceiling with wide eyes while he was panting. Iolaus had never seen a more beautiful sight; Luke looked so open and vulnerable, his eyes shining, a small smile tugging at his lips. It made him want to cuddle Luke to death, but when he moved, his own arousal made itself felt and he gasped. Luke rolled onto his side again and smiled.

“Come here, Iolaus.”

All Iolaus could do was comply, he edged closer again, and sighed when Luke was trailing his hand from Iolaus’ shoulder down his body, his lips catching Iolaus’ in an open mouthed kiss, his beard scratching against Iolaus’ chin.

Finally at his goal, Luke cupped Iolaus’ cock and balls gently, almost reverently.

Still, Iolaus almost jumped out of his skin as Luke’s soft fingers closed around his cock, squeezing gently before beginning to pump.

The moment Luke’s fingers brushed against Iolaus’ head, he exploded. Too quickly, much too quickly. With some effort he forced back tears of frustration, and buried his head in Luke’s shoulder.

Luke kissed Iolaus sweaty brow, brushing away the hair sticking to his forehead.

Just when Iolaus had caught his breath again, Luke murmured:

“I need coffee now.”

Iolaus’ pinched him. “Well, that broke the mood.”

“Sorry.” Luke yawned. “I tend to be a bit grumpy before I had my coffee.”

Iolaus flopped down onto his back and laughed. “Grumpy? That’s you being grumpy?”

Luke elbowed him gently. “A bit grumpy. I’ll be a lot grumpy if I don’t get any coffee soon.”

“That’s adorable.” Iolaus sat up and tousled Luke’s hair. “I'm almost curious to see what you’re like when you’re ‘a lot grumpy’ but I think I’ll see about that coffee.”

Luke struggled to sit up. “Sorry. I didn’t mean … I can make it myself.”

“Don’t worry.” Iolaus pushed him back onto the bed, and smiled. “I’ll take care of it, you relax.”

After all, Luke was a guest. And Iolaus wasn’t too sure he had cleaned the coffee maker, so it would have been a bit rude to let Luke clean before he got his coffee. Neither Iolaus nor Hercules drank it regularly, they only really had the machine for guests. Iolaus had not confessed to Luke that the first morning Luke had spent at his place, he had to get rid of a mouldy filter left in the machine.

Also, it made him feel warm inside to be able to do something small for Luke, something that would also take his mind off how embarrassingly quick he had come.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you liked this little bit of intimacy, I am working on the rest of the chapter :)


	4. Advice on pace

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Luke and Iolaus are trying to figure out the pace

Hercules was staring at the toaster in the kitchen, when Iolaus entered.

“It won’t be any faster when you glare at it, you know.”

Hercules jumped. “Fuck, Iolaus, when did you learn how to sneak.”

Iolaus just wriggled his eyebrows.

“It’s just one of my many talents.”

“As if.” Hercules sighed and pushed his hand through his hair. “So did you make up?”

“Yes.”

“Cool.”

 

They heard the door to Iolaus’ room opening and Luke’s soft footsteps.

Iolaus’ breath almost stopped when he saw Luke; how did Luke manage to always look absolutely stunning? Luke had pulled on his jeans, which rode on his hips, higher than Iolaus’ own, but still revealing the beginnings of his treasure trail and shapely hip bones, and his chest was so toned and hairy, Iolaus’ mouth dried out when he stared too long. His hair was even more tousled than it usually was in the mornings, but other than that there was no indication of what they had done. He smiled at Hercules now, with no hint of self-consciousness.

“Morning Hercules.”

Hercules smiled at him, only slightly unsure of himself.

“Hi Luke. Toast?”

“Please.”

Iolaus glared at Hercules for daring to offer to make Iolaus’ boyfriend breakfast. That should be Iolaus’ job. He grumbled a little, and then remembered that he could still ask what Luke would like on his toast. Their choices were limited to strawberry jam, cheese or baked beans, and Luke picked baked beans and cheese, because apparently he was a bit strange.

 

And so the three of them shared a largely silent breakfast. Hercules still didn’t know how to handle a stranger Iolaus was interested in. Luke, on the other hand, just seemed to be the quiet type, another thing neither Hercules nor Iolaus were used to deal with. All of their friends talked a lot.

It was noon by the time they finished doing the dishes. Iolaus didn’t want Luke to go any time soon, so instead of sitting down to study, as he had planned initially, he asked Luke if he had time to watch a movie. Luke did, so they cuddled on Iolaus’ bed watching “Legends of the Seeker”, a silly fantasy series Iolaus had recently discovered. To his relief, Luke also seemed to appreciate shallow fantasy and the occasional chaste little kisses on hair and cheeks. And Luke's arm was heavy and reassuring around Iolaus' shoulders.

When it was five, however, Luke excused himself, explaining that Jocelyn would have his head if he didn’t do his share of the weekly cleaning.

Iolaus was inclined not to like Jocelyn much.

 

*

 

“What was up with you during the lecture?” Lilith asked during lunch on Monday. They had found a table at the edge of the cafeteria, looking out at the grey street. “We all know you’re not the sharpest tool in the shed, but you don’t usually talk that much nonsense when the prof asks a question.”

Iolaus was about to answer, when Hercules cut in. “He’s daydreaming about his new boyfriend.”

Were they in kindergarden? Judging by the dumb grins his friends sported, the answer was yes. Lilith snorted.

“Iolaus? A boyfriend? We’re not that gullible.”

“It’s actually true,” Jason told her, his voice full of glee. “He met the guy last week and forgot all about Herc and me.”

“Only last week?” Lilith made her usual ‘why are my friends so dumb’ face. “He’s hardly his boyfriend then, is he?”

Still grinning, Jason turned to Iolaus.

“I don’t know, how often have you seen him, Iolaus?”

Iolaus flipped him off, while he tried to come up with an answer. He didn’t actually know if Luke was his boyfriend, he guessed so, but then again, he had no idea how one decided when a relationship started. He could hardly pass Luke a note asking “Do you want to go steady? Tick yes or no.”

“Five times.”

“Whoa. Five dates in one week? Are you crazy?” Lilith shook her head. “That’s way too fast, buddy.”

Lilith was the group “expert,” she had usually at least two people she “dated” - most of them found on tinder. Sometimes she was exclusive with someone for a couple of weeks, but it always fizzled out. Iolaus saw the attraction of that sort of arrangement, but that’s not what he wanted with Luke.

“It just happened.” The retort was lame, even by his standards, but all Iolaus could come up with.

“You just happened to see him so often?”

“He’s following the man like a lost puppy.” Hercules grinned around his mouth full of soggy pasta. “Although, to be fair, I met Luke on the weekend, and he’s ok. For somebody in his thirties.”

Iolaus was just about to elbow him viciously, when Lilith spoke up in her ‘mum’ voice again. “Iolaus, if the man is that old already, he’s seriously going to be scared off if you’re clingy. Only creepy guys like it if you latch on to them.”

“I’m not latching on to him,” Iolaus claimed hotly. Although a loud voice in his head insisted that yes, he was. He hadn’t left Luke alone ever since they met.

 

Later he twiddled with his phone. Wednesday. He would see Luke on Wednesday again. Should he call him now? Or just text? Or should he wait for Luke to contact him first?

He didn’t want to scare Luke off by being clingy. So he put the phone back into his pocket, but made sure to take the bus that drove past Luke’s shop. Not surprisingly, it was impossibly to see if Luke was in as they were driving by.

In the evening he finally got a message from Luke, wishing him a good night. Ignoring all of Lilith’s advice, he texted back immediately that he was looking forward to Wednesday already.

All they meant to do was have lunch and then maybe, Iolaus hoped, he could study in Luke’s shop again, he didn’t have classes in the afternoon, but a shit ton of reading.

 

*

 

Luke got very similar advice from Jocelyn just after he sent the message after dinner and told her who it was for. Clary had just looked at him as if he’d announced his attention to paint the flat pink.

“Haven’t you just seen him yesterday?” Jocelyn asked.

“Yes,” Luke said patiently. “He’s very nice.”

Clary rolled her eyes, but didn’t say anything as she got up and disappeared in her room. Luke did the washing up while Jocelyn, who had done the cooking, sipped on her coffee.

“Clary's worried.”

“Worried? About what?”

“That you’ll spend all time with Iolaus and not with her.”

“But …” Luke turned around, the sponge still in his hand. “She never even wants to spend time with me. When was the last time she went anywhere with me?”

“Teenagers are like cats; they need to be the ones doing the ignoring. If you’re not here to see how little she needs you, she feels neglected.”

“It’s not like I never went out before though. I meet Alaric and the boys quite regularly.”

Luke was beginning to sulk a little; it really wasn’t as if he didn’t have any social life.

“You never, ever, stayed the night, though, and since you met Iolaus you spent a few nights with him.”

“I would have come home, if you needed me, but I think you two are fine without me.”

Jocelyn turned her cup in her fingers, looking thoughtful.

“Luke, are you sure you are not rushing this?”

“Rushing?”

Luke didn’t really think he was - all that happened so far between him and Iolaus was one handjob. And two kisses. Granted, Jocelyn didn’t know that.

“Yes … I mean rushing into this relationship. We’re both of us not very experienced with this, but from what I’ve seen … it’s not normal to spend that much time together right away.”

“Maybe,” Luke acknowledged, turning back to the dirty dishes.

“Luke …” Jocelyn got up and put her hand on his shoulder. “It’s not that I want to ruin this for you. I really don’t. I’m not trying to hold you back. But I also don’t want you to get hurt by throwing yourself into something … I don’t know how to say that …” She gripped his shoulder a bit more tightly while she was thinking. “You don’t really know Iolaus. He seems great, but … Luke, be careful.”

“I am,” Luke lied easily. He dried the last plate and put it back to into the cupboard. He really wanted to get to know Iolaus better, but he also had to admit that Jocelyn had a point.

 

*

 

Wednesday came along. They had lunch at a small restaurant that mainly served pasta and was close to both the university and the bookshop. Luke appeared to be a regular; despite the lunch hour rush, one of the waiters was chatting with him when Iolaus arrived. Obviously Iolaus had to glare that waiter a little bit. The man was too handsome to be near Luke.

“Iolaus, that’s Sam. He just recommended the tortelli.”

“Sure.” Iolaus glanced at the board above the open kitchen. He had no idea what tortelli were and why they would be filled with risotto, but he had always been adventurous.

“Great.” Sam smiled. “With the sugo?”

“Sure.” It didn’t matter that much to Iolaus. It was well outside his budget anyway, and Hercules would certainly not be impressed when Iolaus would, once again, have to beg Hercules to pay for all the food in the flat and promise that Hercules that he’d be repaid at a nebulous future date.

They both got a Gazosa as drink; Iolaus went for Mirtillo, blueberry, Luke for Aranciata Amara, bitter orange. Of course, Iolaus had to try it and Luke nearly fell out of his chair laughing when Iolaus’ face scrunched up in disgust.

It didn’t take long for the tortelli to arrive, which were better than expected. All the while, Luke was happily relating the story of the restaurant, which was apparently quite new, and how he got to know the owners, three friends who went into business together.

After lunch, Iolaus lifted his bag, feeling shyer than he liked.

“I’ve got some rum truffles again. I thought maybe I can do my reading in your shop again, and then we can share them later? If you don’t think I’d scare away any customers.”

Luke laughed.

“I’m sure you’re more likely to attract them. Let’s go.”

They didn’t hold hands on the way, as open as the city was, they had an unspoken agreement that holding hands in public was a no go. But they walked so close to each other, that their coats brushed against each other. The weather was still grey and miserable; the temperature too warm for snow, but cold enough to burn Iolaus ears (he never wore a hat, he was too proud of his hair). Luke, on the other hand, was wearing a red beanie over his raven waves. And looked adorably dorky.

 

Luke was surprised to find a customer already waiting in front of the shop, so they didn’t get to share the rum truffles until late in the afternoon, when it was nearly time for Iolaus to go. He had hardly been able to read his articles about soil erosion, too fascinated by the endless amount of question a single customer could have about one particular edition of Winnie the Pooh. But at the end of the rather long conversation, Luke had sold the man not only a vintage edition of the book, but also the Latin translation. Other customers came walking in, some just browsing but clearly familiar with Luke, others just buying a print or a cheap second hand version of a romance novel. Luke had two huge boxes of them outside the shop; Iolaus had hauled them out after they came back from lunch while Luke was busy discussing the finer point of Winnie the Pooh editions.

 

Iolaus stayed until Luke had to close and they shared a steamy kiss between the shelves, surrounded by the musty smell of old books and the dim light of the ancient lamps Luke had installed at the back of his shop. But then, they both just headed home. Both disappointed, but feeling that they did the right thing.

 

***

 

The following days were miserable for Iolaus and Luke. Both tried not to be too clingy, or pushy, so they tried to give each other space.

The one thing that cheered Iolaus up was that Hercules’s dad had sent extra money; the man never contacted Hercules, but whenever he found out that Ares had bothered him, he sent some money. He was loaded and could afford to ease his guilt towards his illegitimate son with money. When Iolaus confessed that he was broke, yet again, Hercules just said that this time Ares had bothered Iolaus, so he would consider it a payment of Iolaus’ debt this month and all the other little debts he had accumulated. They then played the most brutal video games they had until the early hours of the morning, Hercules always needed to let off steam when his father had acknowledged his existence by sending him money, as if the lack of involvment in Hercules' life could be compensated with money.

 

On the weekend, Iolaus went to a student party, got thoroughly drunk and came home at 6 in the morning. When he woke up in the early afternoon, he had a message by Luke; he quickly opened it and was disappointed, when Luke only asked how the party had been, without any indication that he might like to see Iolaus at all.

Iolaus answered with a short “it was okay” and didn’t hear anything from Luke again. It was difficult to concentrate on his books while always glancing at his phone.

 

Monday was miserable. Tuesday noon he gave up pretending he didn’t care, and sent a short “Are you okay?”

Luke replied an hour later with “Very okay. What about you?”

It felt very awkward and Iolaus debated with himself all afternoon, but then he plucked up the courage to call Luke after dinner.

“Hey.”

“Hey.”

“So …” Iolaus bit his cheek. “Why don’t you want to see me anymore?”

“Why don’t I want what?”

Luke sounded genuinely surprised.

“You haven’t answered me on Sunday,” Iolaus complained. “And you didn’t suggest we’d meet, you just asked how the party was.”

“You could have suggested something,” Luke pointed out, sounding far too calm. “We’d seen each other on Wednesday, and we both had plans for the weekend …”

“And now it’s Tuesday!”

“So do you want to come by tomorrow again?”

“I …” Iolaus deflated. “Yes. Same time?”

“Of course; my shop has the same opening times every week.”

 

*

 

This time, Luke took Iolaus to a small vegetarian restaurant around the corner from his shop; he explained that he needed to pick up some Spirulina and Maca powder for Jocelyn anyway, who was apparently a bit of a fan of “Superfoods.” Iolaus wasn’t, but he took a vegetable burger with oven fries as a take-out while Luke took a sandwich. They also took a cupcake each.

Iolaus was a bit worried when Luke had just calmly told the cashier that they wanted to take outand not eat in.

“Are we going to eat in your shop?” he asked Luke, a bit worried.

“Yes. Sorry I forgot to ask you if you’re okay with that, I just always do it like that … their chairs are ridiculously small and you don’t have much space to move.”

“But …” Iolaus looked down at the bag with a frown. “Aren’t you worried about your books getting dirty?”

Luke raised an eyebrow. “You’re not a toddler. We’ll use my desk and then just clean it before I put any books onto it again?”

“All right.” Iolaus still wasn’t sure he wouldn’t somehow manage to throw his iced tea across the desk and all over some valuable books, but he also didn’t want to admit that. Luke still seemed to sense something, and laughed a little.

“I would have said something, had you ordered the curry.”

 

Iolaus did indeed manage to eat his burger without making a mess, a feat that would have impressed his friends but seemed to be unremarkable to Luke. While he was eating, he listened to Luke tell him all about a customer who spend all day in the shop on Monday but just when Luke wanted to throw him out and go home, he actually bought a stack of prints, enough to take care of shop’s rent for the month. They were seated on either side of Luke’s desk, the sign at the door turned to indicate that they were currently closed.

“How did you decide to become a second hand book shop owner anyway?” Iolaus asked. He had wondered about that ever since he found out about that. Luke just shrugged and finished a mouthful of his sandwich before answering.

“I’ve always loved books, especially old books. There is so much history to them, it feels like each of these books is a little dimension of its own. You know, all these books, they’ve gone through so many hands before, and I just wonder why did that first owner, whose name is faded on the first page now, pick up this particular edition of Macbeth - what did he think about the illustrations … did he think they were too modern for Shakespeare? Was is that first owner who loved Banko’s ghost so much, that the pages with him are a bit grubbier? Or was it maybe his son?” 

He grinned and raked his fingers through his air. “Sorry, that probably made me sound like I lost my mind. So. I started a business degree at university, and when I walked past this shop, shortly after I finished the BA, I saw a sign that said the owner looked for somebody to buy his shop and take over. It took some hard work to convince first him and then the bank that I could do this, but I succeeded, so I dropped out of university and quit my part time job as a waiter and here we are.”

“You went to a bank and they just gave you the money to buy a shop?”

“Um … not quite.” Luke shrugged. “They needed a lot of convincing. Without what I learned in my classes on business and and friends who helped me work on the business plan, I would have failed. And the loan wasn’t even as high as you probably imagine; I mean, this is a rented space, obviously was already established, and I only needed money for the stock, which the bank could also take as security, you know.”

Iolaus didn’t. But he nodded anyway. “How old were you?”

“Late twenties.” Luke shrugged. “It was a bit of a risk, I mean, Jocelyn barely made any money, and we had to support Clary … but it worked out. Better than the part-time job as a waiter and the student loan. We’re not rich, but we make enough to afford a nice enough flat, and go on holidays every couple of years.”

The ‘we’ bothered Iolaus a little bit. It almost felt as if he was intruding into a family. Still, all he said was:

“That’s good.”

Luke laughed and looked a bit self-conscious. “You mean boring.”

“No I don’t!” Iolaus defended himself, even though he did. Luke’s life was so … grown-up. And a bit too much involved with that woman and her daughter.

“So Jocelyn and Clary …”

“Yes.” Luke sighed. “You know, when I first met you, I sort of understated our connection.”

Iolaus froze. “You what?”

“No, no, not like that! Jocelyn is not my wife and Clary is most definitely not my biological daughter. It’s just … they’re not ‘living with me at the moment.’ We've lived together since Clary was 3, we both couldn’t find a flat and she needed help with Clary anyway … I’ll admit, I had a crush on her, back then, but nothing ever happened. It’s not the most usual set-up and I can’t even adopt Clary because her father is against it.”

“Oh.” Iolaus beat himself internally. He usually wasn’t this tongue-tied. “It’s lucky for them to have you, I guess.”

“And for me.” Luke smiled. “I don’t have any other family.”

Something told Iolaus that there was a lot more behind this, but he also didn’t want to pry. He had known Luke for only 2 weeks and he wasn’t quite sure where they stood anyway.

They finished their meal in silence.

 

The sign for the shop was still turned to “closed” but when somebody looked in curiously, Luke got up to turn it around and the man shuffled in, enquiring after a print in the window.

Iolaus wondered if he should leave, but then decided not to until Luke kicked him out. In a sudden bout of responsibility, he cleaned the desk while Luke was discussing prints with his customer and earned a grateful smile when Luke brought it to desk to wrap it up. Iolaus also ended up carrying out the boxes of books, just like the previous week.

 

It was an unusually busy afternoon in Luke’s little shop; if there wasn’t a customer browsing the shelves, mostly without buying anything, Luke was on the phone with somebody or answering emails. Iolaus felt a bit like an intruder, with his books on mathematics and his scribbled notes. He didn’t get mathematics. At all. 

Iolaus had always been practical; he could understand anything that was of immediate practical value, but his brain refused to retain knowledge that was only theoretical. How he managed to get his A-levels was still a mystery to everyone. 

He had started studying environmental sciences because that had seemed practical. Of course, the first two years covered the basics of science, and he struggled. The following week, there would be exams and he had no idea how to pass them.

 

He still wasn’t much closer to understanding the theory enough to even start on the exercises when Luke told him it was time to close the shop.

They hadn’t really interacted since lunch, apart from Luke offering him tea and biscuits and Iolaus accepting. Now, Luke was standing beside the chair Iolaus had commandeered and smiled shyly.

What was it about that man that drew Iolaus in like a moth?

He hastily shoved his book in the bag.

“I’m sorry … I …”

“Sorry for what?”

“I didn’t ask if it’s okay if I squat in your shop, did I.”

“You’re always welcome. Did you manage to learn something?”

“Not really.” Iolaus sighed. “Mathematics is beyond me.”

Luke laughed lightly. “I know what you mean.”

“Yeah. So …” Iolaus fidgeted, standing by the door. “Do we see each other again?”

“Do you have time for dinner now?”

“Now??” Iolaus blinked.

“Well …” Luke scratched his head bashfully, “I guess we should talk?”

“Sure.” That was not ominous at all. “Dinner.” Then he remembered something and sighed. “Or not. I don’t actually have any money left.”

He had paid for that burger with his last change.

“I could pay?” Luke offered but Iolaus shook his head.

“We can just go to my place.” He saw Luke’s face and put his hand up. “I won’t come on to you, promise.”

Luke burst out laughing, and gave Iolaus a quick hug.

 

And that was how Iolaus got another opportunity to ride on Luke’s bike. They stopped for Luke to deposit his earnings in the bank and then they were off to Iolaus’ place.

 

*

 

Hercules was already home and didn’t seem very surprised to see Luke entering behind Iolaus.

Luke was starting to feel slightly self-conscious though. He knew that at some point he needed to talk to Iolaus about what was going on … they had sort of agreed that there was a future, but then they had both seemed to back off, and he was too old to play games. 

Or rather, he’d never liked them much. And now that he had a moody teenager at home, and had to play “let’s find out what really bothers Clary this time” on a regular basis, his tolerance for that sort of thing was wearing thin.

 

Before they had that talk, though, they had dinner. It consisted of pasta, again, and sauce from a jar. Luke felt a bit guilty when his mind pictured just how easy it might be to impress Iolaus with a very simple home cooked meal. It was a lovely mental picture; Iolaus sitting at the table at home, digging into a hot and steaming pie Luke had just pulled from the oven.

 

After they had finished their meal, during which Iolaus and Hercules and discussed math problems, Iolaus took Luke to his room again. It was even messier than the first time Luke had been there, but he just removed a book from the chair and put it on Iolaus desk before sitting down. Iolaus sat down on his bed, kicking some dirty clothes under it.

 

“So,” he said, his fingers smoothing the wrinkles of the linen.

It wasn’t much of an opening, but Luke took it.

“So I think we need to talk about what we want.” He made a vague gesture. “I’ve got no experience with this sort of thing.”

“That makes two of us,” Iolaus confessed.

“You seemed unhappy on the phone yesterday,” Luke pressed on. “Because I didn’t answer your text on Sunday and because you expected me to suggest another meeting.”

“You make me sound so silly.”

“That’s not my intention, I’m sorry.”

“Can’t we just … you know … kiss?” Iolaus suggested. He shrank backwards when Luke looked at him; Luke hadn’t meant to look very angry, but he knew he often came across as fiercer than he meant to. Still. He rubbed his arm.

“If we kiss now, what will that accomplish?”

“It feels good?” Iolaus suggested, with a hint of his usual cheer, but he quickly shook his head when Luke wanted to rebuke him again. “I get it, I get it. I’m not totally stupid, you know. So yes, I was sort of hoping you’d like to see me again.”

“I did.”

“Then why didn’t you say so?”

“Well, I …” Luke began to fidget on his chair. “I was hoping you’d suggest something. I didn’t want to push.”

Iolaus bit his lip and then he laughed.

“Me neither. You see, my friend Lilith said we went way too fast.”

“As did Jocelyn.” Luke sighed. “Maybe we should have talked to each other instead of our friends.”

“Maybe.” Iolaus shrugged. He stood up and took the small step to Luke, who put his hands on Iolaus’ hips, stalling him. He knew what Iolaus wanted, but still, they were not finished.

“So what should we do about that?”

“Kiss,” Iolaus pouted, but then he compromised by sitting down on Luke’s lap.

 

Luke automatically put his arm around him and had to admit to himself, that this felt much better. Iolaus wasn’t very heavy but very solid and warm, and his wild blond hair tickled Luke’s face pleasantly.

“Obviously seeing each other virtually every day like in the first week is a bit much,” he continued, his fingers playing on Iolaus’ waist.

“I’ve also got exams soon.” Iolaus craned his head to eye the stack of books on his desk with some misgiving which made Luke smile.

“So you won’t have much time?”

“Don’t know.” Iolaus shrugged. “I’m going to fail anyway, I just can’t keep anything in my head and it’s really hard to cheat.”

“Isn’t this your second year?”

“Yes.” Iolaus sighed a little when Luke began to massage his shoulder and leant closer. Luke prodded him gently with a finger.

“So you passed your first year?”

Iolaus grimaced.

“Barely. Two of my exams now are actually classes I’ve got repeat.”

Luke stopped his gentle massage. “How many attempts do you get?”

“Two.” Iolaus grumbled and looked at Luke. “So yes, if I fail again, I’ll have to drop out.”

“That … that is pretty serious.” Luke frowned. “Maybe we shouldn’t see each other until your exams are over and …”

“No!” Iolaus leapt off Luke’s lap and glared at him. “I’m sorry I told you. If I drop out, I drop out.”

Something in the lines around Iolaus’ mouth told Luke that it was actually a very big deal for Iolaus. He got up too, standing right in front of Iolaus, but not touching him.

“How many weeks until you’ve got your exams?”

“2 1/2.” Iolaus waved his hands. “Look, if I fail, I’ll try to find work in a supermarket or something.”

“Why are you doing the exams in the first place, then?”

“Huh?”

“Why sit through exams you believe you’re going to fail, if you’d be just as happy as a cashier? Why did you even retake this courses then?”

This was possibly a bit deep for their brief acquaintance and not at all what Luke at meant to talk about. Iolaus gaped at him.

“I … well, as a student I have a better excuse to party?”

Luke lifted an eyebrow. “You’d still be friends with students.”

“Who already think I’m a loser.” Iolaus huffed and let himself drop onto his bed. “I’ve always been slow, I only managed my A-Levels because Hercules and his mum spent years hammering knowledge in my stupid brain.”

It felt a bit weird to look down at Iolaus on the bed while talking about this, but Luke soldiered on.

“And then you started to study? Where you needed to accumulate more knowledge?”

Iolaus glared at him for the fancy word. “Yeah. And before you ask, I just followed Hercules.”

“Not a good motivation.”

Iolaus still glared, but it had all the force of a disgruntled puppy.

“Yeah. So, I’m a loser. You found out a bit more quickly than I planned.”

“Not what I meant.” Luke sighed and gingerly sat down on the edge of the bed. “You’re 20, you have time to figure it out.”

“Is that your way to tell me you don’t want to see me anymore? I’m too young and have no direction?”

“No. Although you do act a lot like Clary right now.”

Of course, Iolaus was only 4 years older and it did bother Luke quite a bit at the moment. Iolaus shrugged.

“So what are you saying?”

“That you should make a conscious decision whether you want to pass these exams or not. And if you do, maybe we will keep it to dates like today, grabbing some lunch and then working.”

“I guess.” Iolaus inched a bit closer to Luke. “You’re still not tired of me?”

“No.” Luke smiled and cradled Iolaus face in his hand. 

 

The younger man looked up at him, his blue eyes shining and Luke knew that he was falling very hard. Impulsively, he leaned down to press a quick kiss on Iolaus lush mouth, but Iolaus was having none of that, his own hands shot up lightning-quick to hold on to Luke’s neck, to drag Luke back again when he tried to straighten himself, pressing his own lips very firmly against Luke’s again.

 

Luke indulged in the kiss for a little while, his own hands loosely entwined around Iolaus’ shoulders. Then he gently disentangled himself.

“I need to get going.”

“Stay here?” Iolaus suggested, with his impossibly cute puppy look.

“I can’t.”

“You could two weeks ago,” Iolaus pouted. He was very good at that and Luke was sure Iolaus did that on purpose.

Luke sighed and looked down at his clothes. They should do for another day. He sighed. “All right then. Let me call Jocelyn.”

 

Jocelyn was not impressed. Just as she hadn’t been impressed when he had called to say that he wouldn’t be there for dinner. She had never been a big fan of spontaneity.

“What if I’d have decided, this late at night, not to come home? And Clary would be all on her own?”

“You’d have called me beforehand, like I am doing now, and we’d have sorted something out.” Luke rolled his eyes, because she couldn’t see him and he could allow himself the luxury. “I’ll cook dinner tomorrow, all right?”

“All right then,” she grumbled.

He knew that both Jocelyn and Clary were a bit unsure about the prospect of Luke potentially entering a relationship. But it couldn’t be helped; Clary was 16 and ever more independent, and Luke wasn’t about to throw away a chance now.

 

*

 

Iolaus watched Luke talking to his friend on the balcony through the window, while he pretended to clean the table. Luke had found out one of the things Iolaus had not wanted him to find out … that he was most likely not going to be a student for much longer and that he was actually kind of dumb.

Hercules meddled enough in Iolaus’ affairs, he didn’t need yet another person making him feel inadequate. He wasn't really, he told himself. He only struggled with stupid stuff. Like math. And physics. And chemistry. So basically all his courses. But he wasn’t stupid. Iolaus submitted the table to a more thorough scrubbing than it had ever seen.

 

Luke smiled when he came back in, and Iolaus’ mood lightened immediately. It was only 9 o’clock and a bit early to sleep, and although Iolaus knew Luke for only a couple of weeks, he already knew that the answer to any attempt to suggest some fun stuff in bed would be “I’m not in the mood.” It did not take much to turn Luke off, unfortunately.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I still absolutely love comments :) I mean this is a rarepair, so I don't expect many, but that makes comments all th ebetter because it's a surprise to get one!


	5. Meeting the family

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> another step is taken

Because it was so early, they ended up back in the living room with Hercules, watching silly videos on Youtube. As he was the same size as Luke, Iolaus told him he should lend Luke a clear pair of boxer shorts, and then Iolaus nearly fell of the couch laughing from the embarrassed reactions.

Hercules mumbled he had a pack of underpants he hadn’t opened yet, and he’d give one to Luke. And a shirt for the night too. Obviously he didn’t appreciate shirtless Luke in the morning as much as Iolaus did.

 

The shirt was slightly too tight for Luke, who was broader than Hercules, and emphasized his physique. That reconciled Iolaus with the shirt, and he happily put his head on Luke’s chest when they settled down for sleep. Sharing a bed with Luke had quickly become his favourite thing. He had had no idea how much he enjoyed cuddling before Luke appeared so recently.

 

The next morning, Luke gave Iolaus a ride to university. He didn’t have any classes at eight, but he decided to try and study in the library. Luke’s words from the evening before still echoed in his head. He knew Luke was right. What was the point in studying if he didn’t believe he could pass? Did he want to pass? He thought he did. But why?

He sat in the library, doodling in the margins of his notes. He always claimed he wasn’t stupid, but his marks told a different story.

He sighed. If he wasn’t stupid for not being able to learn stupid things, was he stupid for studying something for which he needed to learn stupid things? He said the sentence three times in his head to make sure he got it right.

And then felt silly.

 

He had a lecture at 10 o’clock, for which Jason didn’t show up, but Lilith and Hercules did. He had lunch with them, but sent a message to Luke telling him to enjoy his meal. To which Luke replied, he enjoyed his meals much more with Iolaus. Before Lilith and Hercules could ask whom he had texted, he asked them something about the lecture he hadn’t understood. Which, according to Lilith and Hercules, was something they had covered in the second week and pretty basic. Because Lilith was also actually nice, she offered to help Iolaus with it after their lab in the afternoon. He could tell that both her and Hercules were surprised when he took that offer.

 

*

 

Luke was rushed that evening; after he closed the shop he had to race home to collect his boxing gear. Iolaus’ pretty eyes had distracted him so much the evening before, he had forgotten all about training. Clary was already home and laughed at him, but also helped him to locate his new set of bandages.

He was only 10 minutes late for training. Thai boxing was a sport he had only discovered two years ago, but he had taken to it immediately. It was a great way to hone his reflexes and to stay in shape. He didn’t like the aggression of some of the younger members, but he was able to deal with them and he never stayed for drinks with them anyway. And he was able to beat any of them with ease.

He thought one of them looked a lot like one of the guys who had attacked Iolaus. Had he been at a boxing session since then? Luke couldn’t remember. But he could also hardly ask, but he resolved to keep an eye on this particular bastard, who wasn’t even very good, to see if the man Iolaus had identified as Ares Olimpos showed up anywhere near the boxing studio. As he had worn a helmet while he beat the bastards off, they would of course never recognize him.

 

When Luke was back home, and just about to open the front door, his phone vibrated in his pocket and he saw several messages from Iolaus. He cursed mentally for not having checked immediately after training, and opened the messages while he pushed the door open.

He had to smile when he read the messages. Iolaus tried to keep the tone casual, but it was obvious that he was worried his poor academic record had somehow turned Luke off. He shouldn’t make fun of Iolaus, but it was somehow endearing how he tried very hard not to sound desperate. He answered quickly, that he had been Thai boxing, and that he looked forward to see Iolaus again very soon.

Iolaus answered two minutes later, asking when.

“Iolaus again?” Jocelyn asked with a small frown. They were in the kitchen now, Jocelyn keeping him company while he fixed himself a modest dinner.

“Of course.” Luke poured some dressing over his salad and carried the plate over to the table, where Jocelyn was already sitting. “He’s very cute. He even looks great in the morning.”

He smiled fondly at the memory of Iolaus’ messy bed hair.

They were silent for a while, while Luke was wolfing down his dinner. Jocelyn was drawing small circles on the table with her fingers.

“This is so unlike you, Luke.”

“What is?”

“Going after someone just for their looks. You’re not usually that shallow.”

Luke put the fork down and stared at his best friend.

“Who said I’m only interested in Iolaus because he’s gorgeous?”

She raised an eyebrow.

“It’s all you mention when you talk about him? He’s angelic, he’s gorgeous, he got the most amazing hair, his eyes have the most beautiful colour … and that you want to be with him.” She shrugged. “Maybe I’m wrong, but-”

“You’re right,” Luke interrupted her, just to rub his face. “No, I mean, you’re wrong. You’re right, it’s all I talk about, but … it’s not just that. I’m not … I’m not in a midlife crisis Jocelyn, I’m too young for that.”

A laugh escaped her. “I know.”

“Good. Good. I’m not getting involved with Iolaus because he’s young and pretty. He’s … He’s different and wonderful. I can’t quite explain it. I feel comfortable with him. He’s funny. He seems to be extremely loyal to his friends. There’s just …” He wrung his hands, almost swiping his glass off the table. “I’m no good with words.”

She nodded, and they both fell silent for a moment, before she looked up again.

“Maybe you should bring him round for dinner then?”

“What?”

“Well, you met his housemate several times.”

“I guess.” Luke couldn’t immediately shape his vague feelings of why it was different into words. “That just happened, in a way. He said he didn’t have enough money to go out for dinner, last night, and we went there.”

“Right. But he also invited you to dinner to meet the guy a couple of weeks ago?”

“Yes. Do you think I should invite Iolaus? I mean, you met him, in the shop, but I appreciate that it’s different. I’m just …” he lowered his voice. “I’m not sure how Clary would react?”

“She’s a very polite girl!”

“For a given value of polite.” Luke chuckled, but it soon died in his throat. “Iolaus is not even 5 years older than her. It seems a lot more, because he’s an adult, and she’s not, but-”

“But that’s not going to change, and if things are getting serious with Iolaus, she - and me by the way - are just going to feel left out of a huge part of your life, Luke.”

Luke acknowledged that by pulling his phone out of his pocket. “So … when do you have time?”

“Well, I know Clary is going out on Saturday … but what about Friday night?”

“You do realise that’s tomorrow?”

“Oh, yes, that’s too sudden … what about Sunday night?”

 

Luke watched his phone with an odd sense of foreboding, while he did the washing up and Jocelyn had disappeared to the living room to do some reading. He wasn’t sure if he wanted Iolaus to answer with yes or no. He wanted Iolaus to be a part of his life, but on the other hand, this felt like they were rushing it. They seemed to go very fast. And he didn’t want Jocelyn to scare Iolaus off. He loved Jocelyn like a sister, and she would often be the nicest person the room, but she also had her moments in which she came across as stern and older than her 36 years.

If she asked Iolaus about his studies, the poor man might feel inadequate. If Luke asked Jocelyn not to talk about it, she might judge Iolaus before she properly met him.

To his surprise, Iolaus called him instead of replying via message.

Not that he wasn’t happy to hear Iolaus’ voice.

Iolaus began by asking, tentatively, about the Thai boxing, but after Luke just told him that he went there at least once a week, he began a follow up question, stopped himself and after an awkward pause, said: “So … about coming for dinner Sunday night.”

“Yes?”

“I … is that alright with Jocelyn and Clary? I mean … of course I’ll come if you want me to, and you know … I guess it’d be nice to meet them …” he trailed off again.

“They want to meet you,” that was true at least for Jocelyn, “and it just feels fair, you know? I’ve been over to your place too many times, it’d feel weird soon enough if you’d never come over here.”

“True, I reckon.” Iolaus laughed. “I’ll come if you come and pick me up with the bike.”

“You like the bike, do you?”

“I like riding it.”

Luke chuckled, and almost, but only almost, made a suggestive comment. He didn’t. Mainly because he was still sitting in the kitchen, and Clary moved like a cat sometimes. He wasn’t sure who’d die of mortification first if she’d overhear him make a lewd comment, but he didn’t want to find out.

“I can pick you up a bit earlier,” he suggested instead, “and we can ride around the countryside a little beforehand.”

“Perfect!” He could hear Iolaus smile in his voice. “I’m excited already.”

“Me too. So I’ll see you Sunday, unless you decide to deliver some more rum truffles beforehand?”

“I might not have time.” Iolaus sounded almost abashed now. “I sort of thought I’d actually study this week, so I’ll be in the library tomorrow and Saturday, I guess.”

“Well if that gets too noisy, there’s my shop, but I guess the library is better, you’ve got more space.”

“Yeah.” Both of them weren’t really happy about it and ended the call soon after.

 

Luke was also pleased, though, that Iolaus was determined to pass his exams after all. He was convinced that Iolaus was much more clever than he let on. It might of course be the rose-tinted lenses he was admittedly wearing when it came to Iolaus. But Iolaus was witty and they had actual conversations with each other, conversations that Luke enjoyed. So he certainly wasn’t stupid.

At that point, he stopped his train of thought, dried the sink with the towel and got ready for bed.

 

***

 

Iolaus didn’t come to Luke’s shop on Fridday or Saturday, even though he missed Luke. Much to his friends’ surprise, he actually spent all his free time going over his notes and by badgering them with questions, he helped them along. They all met at Lilith’s place on Saturday to study some more and to share pizza for lunch and for dinner, which morphed into a movie night.

 

Iolaus was in a great mood and felt more confident than he’d have a week earlier, when he stood in the cold air outside the apartment block, waiting for Luke to arrive on Sunday.

All that confidence didn’t mean that his mouth didn’t dry out when he saw Luke arrive on his Harley. Because it did. Of course. Luke was stunning.

And he came to pick him up. Him. Iolaus. Not Hercules who usually seemed to have all the luck in the world and whom people usually took to.

No, Luke’s beautiful smile when he took off his helmet, the smile that lit up his eyes, was for Iolaus.

“Have you been waiting long?”

“Nah.” Iolaus laughed, too happy to do anything else. He took the helmet that Luke offered him and tried to climb up on the bike behind Luke as if he’d done that all his life.

He didn’t quite succeed although he had some more practice now.

“Anywhere in particular you’d like to go?” Luke asked over his shoulder, once Iolaus was seated.

Iolaus took a moment to think.

“Up on the hill to the viewpoint?”

“Perfect Let’s go.”

Iolaus shivered in anticipation as Luke revved up the engine. This was way too much fun.

 

The road Luke took there was the longer one, that winded its way up the steepest part of the hill, rather than taking the straight road up the gentler slope near the town. That was all right with Iolaus. He loved the adrenaline rush of sitting behind Luke, leaning into the curves and feeling the wind tug at them, despite the protective clothes.

All too soon they were up at the viewpoint. They and a handful of other people, milling around and taking pictures of the view. The day was beautiful and the mountains were clearly visible behind the lake, looking much closer than they actually were. They were covered in snow, their clear white peaks complementing the blue sky and lake.

“Once you’ve passed your tests, we should go up there,” Luke said, interrupting Iolaus’ thoughts.

“Snowboarding?”

“Yeah. What do you think?”

“Awesome plan.”

Not only because Iolaus enjoyed snowboarding. But also because it was a plan for the future. He found he liked that. Lilith and the others might think they moved too fast, but as long as Luke didn’t, Iolaus was very comfortable with the speed with which this developed.

After Iolaus took a picture of Luke against the backdrop of the mountains and saved it as his lockscreen, they walked into the forest, taking in the crisp winter air. The ground up here was frozen and there were still spots with snow left. Down in town, the snow was long gone, and the ground muddy.

They soon found a little path, that was a bit slippery with the frozen leaves but they were alone here. A rare occasion in the busy city forest. Iolaus finally took Luke’s hand, relieved to be out of sight, and when they passed a huge oak tree, he impulsively pulled Luke behind it. It was a sheltered little spot, with a small cluster of pine-trees curving from the side to the back of the oak, and a gorse bush growing on the other side.

Luke laughed, but backed Iolaus against the cold trunk and put his hot mouth over Iolaus in a curiously gentle yet passionate kiss. Iolaus grabbed the lapels of Luke’s jacket to draw him closer. His woollen gloves slipped a bit on the leather of Luke’s jacket, so he ended up slinging his arms around Luke’s neck.

Their kiss seemed endless. They heard the voices of walkers nearby, but were secure in the knowledge that even in this bare forest, they were well out of sight.

But all too soon, it became too cold, even in Luke’s arms, and Iolaus reluctantly ended the kiss.

Luke smiled at him, curling a blond lock around his leather-encased finger, before he released Iolaus. But even then, he had to press a kiss on Iolaus’ nose before they went back to the little track again, and it was good that nobody was around to see Iolaus’ goofy grin. They would likely not have believed that all they had done was kiss.

It was just that kissing Luke and getting nose kisses from Luke was so much better than all the sex Iolaus had had.

 

They had a coffee at the restaurant up there, to warm them up, and then Luke raced back down the other side of the hill. As soon as they made it into the narrow streets of the residential areas, he slowed down though. Iolaus knew that this was the posh area Hercules’s dad lived in, and he surreptitiously kept looking out for Ares. The spoilt baby of the family, he still lived with his father who seemed unable to keep him in check.

But of course, he was nowhere in sight. And there hadn’t been any trouble in recent week, neither Ares nor his cronies had appeared anywhere near the building where they studied to tease Hercules. Iolaus made a mental note to remind Hercules to call Hephaistion, the only one of his siblings he was in contact with. It would be good to know what was going on.

 

While Iolaus’ mind was occupied, they had already made it through to the other side of town, where Luke lived. It was an innocent enough looking apartment block, older than the one Iolaus’ lived in, and with much more charm. Colourful curtains blocked the view into the ground floor flats, but plants and some decorative objects were placed on the windowsills, making it all look much more personal. He didn’t have much time to look around, Luke unlocked the front door and motioned him into the clean stairwell. Somebody had put a potted plant in the corner. The old wooden stairs squeaked as the walked up one floor to Luke’s flat, grating at Iolaus’ nerves.

Iolaus took a deep breath, and was not really soothed when he noticed that Luke also hesitated before he unlocked the door. Great. Both of them nervous before they met the family. So to speak.

 

But at least the smell that had already greeted them on the stairs, was delicious. Luke shouted a “Hello” once they entered, and as they took of their shoes, Jocelyn and Clary appeared in the hallway, both smiling. Jocelyn was wearing an apron, Clary had a big splodge of dried brown sauce on her striped t-shirt.

For some reason, that set Iolaus at ease. This was not as perfectionist as he had envisioned.

He followed them all into the kitchen to take some plates and help set up the table in the living room. Luke told Jocelyn about the beautiful view they had, and how brilliant it was to drive the bike up the hill, and she chided him for his reckless driving. It felt like this was their usual routine, and the way Clary rolled her eyes confirmed for him that it was.

 

Iolaus didn’t know what to say, as these family interactions unfolded around him. Luke and Jocelyn were obviously a great team, and as Iolaus stood awkwardly in the living room, as there was nothing else for him to help with, he wondered briefly why Luke was not in a relationship with Jocelyn, why he even looked outside of this little family for a partner. Could Iolaus ever truly be Luke’s partner?

But then they brought out the Shepherd’s Pie Jocelyn had prepared. It was delicious. And Jocelyn asked him about his studies, how he had chosen his subject, and how different university was from school. He found himself starting, as usual with the great parties, and all the fun he had with friends. Though he quickly felt the need to censor himself, not only because he felt that Jocelyn wouldn’t want to encourage Clary to think of university as a never ending string of parties, but also because it seemed inappropriate to talk about how great it was to snog in dark corners during the parties, or how jealous he was of Hercules who seemed to have more success with women. That was not the kind of thing to talk about when having dinner with one’s new boyfriend. So he trailed off, and when Jocelyn asked him how he liked the actual subject he studied, he was able to give a satisfactory answer.

Clary declared that it all sounded very boring, so Iolaus asked her what she did for fun. She responded that she had gone to a poetry reading with her best friend the night before. That sounded supremely boring, but Iolaus was old enough not to show it, at least not too much, and he asked how it was. Awful, Clary declared, and entertained them all with an imitation of the would-be poet’s style. But next month, she told them, she would go to the most amazing poetry reading scheduled yet. They had invited the hottest young poet of the year, a guy named Orpheus who actually played a lyre while reciting poetry. Combining modern poetry with its roots in Ancient Greece. The videos she had seen were absolutely amazing.

Iolaus said that it sounded like something his dorky friend Hercules would enjoy. So Luke said, that they should all go. That was clearly not what Clary had intended and she fell silent.

By the time they devoured the apple pie for dessert, they were laughing about stories Jocelyn and Luke told about their customers, and Iolaus was actually enjoying his evening.

And of course, Luke offered to give him a ride home. Iolaus was touched when he realised that this was the reason Luke hadn’t had any wine the whole evening. Unfortunately, it was too late to then invite Luke to his room for some more adult fun.

After his exams, Iolaus promised himself. After his exams he would finally seduce Luke.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Of course I love comments! I just got a job (hurray) and I moved to another country, so I will be much slower than I used to, but as long as there's interest in this, I'll continue writing, promise!


	6. Past and present

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There are some issues that need to be addressed, even though they might threaten the beginnings of their relationship ...

Iolaus could not resist and on Tuesday, he went to visit Luke at his shop already to study there. It was less than week until his exams, and he got increasingly nervous around his fellow students, who all appeared to be further along than him. Even the first years who had to do the exams for the first time, which he had to repeat it.

He tried to explain that to Luke when he called him to ask. Luke just laughed and told Iolaus that he did not have to justify himself.

That was nice too. He bought rum truffles again in the cafeteria, plus two sandwiches and a big salad to share for both of them so they would not have to go out to eat. It was also the only way Iolaus could invite Luke for lunch without damaging his bank balance. Besides, he liked having lunch with Luke in his shop, while the “closed” sign was on the door. It felt a little bit like they were hiding together, taking time just for themselves among Luke’s beloved books. 

It felt even more like it, when they had to sit down on the floor to eat, as Luke’s desk was full with a set of a particularly valuable editions of old prints that Luke had acquired for the shop in the morning. 

They sat shoulder to shoulder, each munching on their sandwich in companionable silence. They were well hidden from customers, which was a good thing when Luke put his arm around Iolaus after he finished his own sandwich to draw him closer and was distracting Iolaus with soft kisses on his hair while Iolaus was working on wolfing down the rest of his sandwich so he could return the attention. They kissed gently, until Iolaus pressed closer, letting his hands wander over Luke’s strong arms. Luke disentangled himself after while, and trailed a finger down Iolaus’ cheek and to his neck. 

“This is not the right moment, I’ve got to reopen the shop in a bit.”

“It’s never the right moment with you.” Iolaus hadn’t meant to sound so petulant, but it was frustrating to always be stalled by his boyfriend. 

Luke frowned. “What do you mean?”

“Don’t play dumb.” 

Iolaus crossed his arms. It probably also wasn’t the moment for this conversation, but now that he had voiced his frustration, he might as well go on with it. 

“We see each other all the time, and all that happened was one, one, handjob. You told me you are attracted to me, remember? But-”

“I am,” Luke interrupted him firmly. The way his eyes focused on Iolaus and the tone of his voice made Iolaus shiver slightly. “I am,” Luke repeated himself a bit more softly, his hand seeking Iolaus’ and squeezing it. “I’m sorry I don’t show that enough. But …”

“Now is not the time to talk about it,” Iolaus sighed, he was aware of that of course.

“It really isn’t. I need to sell some stuff after throwing a lot of money at these books.” Luke nodded towards his desk. “And you need to study. I can come for dinner at your place, or you can come to mine, though, if you feel you want to talk about it today.”

“I do.” Iolaus shivered again. 

This time it was apprehension rather than attraction though. He had never liked serious conversations, but they probably needed one. It was even more difficult than usual to concentrate on formulas and graphs that afternoon, he felt he hardly got the hang of what he was doing when Luke was already closing the shop. 

***

They had hot dogs for dinner, one of the few things Iolaus knew how to prepare. Hercules joined them for dinner, but then disappeared in his room to play games. One thing Iolaus had to admit about his best friend was, that he seemed to have enough empathy to realise when Iolaus needed to talk to Luke. Or maybe he assumed they’d want to make out. Iolaus had never admitted how little was actually happening. 

They did the dishes together, their hands brushing more than once and their frequent little kisses made the whole process way longer than it needed to be. Still, the kitchen was clean after they were done, which was something unusual in this household. Once they were in Iolaus’ room, the mood sobered. Luke sat down on the chair and looked straight at Iolaus.

“You think I don’t fancy you because I have not been in the mood much, right?”

“Not much?” Iolaus pouted again, not caring that he probably looked like a petulant child. “As I said, you were in the mood one time. One. And even then I had to persuade you.” “True.” Luke sighed. “I’m sorry about that. It’s just-”

Iolaus didn’t let him finish. “It feels like maybe …” he bit his lips. “Is it because I am younger and you are put off when you think I’m immature?”

“No, of course not!” Luke clenched and unclenched his fingers. “No. I guess we had small issues every time I was here, which is part of it, but no. I’d not want to be with you if I thought you’re too immature or anything. You’re more mature than I was at 20, to be fair.”

“So what is it then.” Iolaus sat down on the bed, very consciously sitting up straight so he looked bigger than he felt. He felt his stomach clench in anticipation.

“It will sound silly.” Luke’s large hazel eyes held a hint of insecurity, but he was still looking straight at Iolaus. “But I don’t actually have a lot of experience. I had one boyfriend and that was … well it was not a good relationship, put it that way. And since then, it was always casual. So … I’m not too sure how to go about it with someone I want more from than sex.” 

Iolaus felt that this was not the whole truth, there was something guarded about Luke’s expression that did not sit well with him. But he did not care right at that moment. He had exams soon, he had to study way harder than he ever had in his life, and he had a new boyfriend and he wanted to relax. So he pushed that feeling aside and grinned. 

“Not that I have much experience with relationships,” _make that none,_ “but I think it’s quite easy. You could come over here and take my clothes off, for a start.”

Luke laughed, and the sound went straight to Iolaus cock. And when Luke got up in one fluid motion and took the small step towards the bed he almost moaned. If his face showed half of the awe he felt, he should be embarrassed, but it did not matter. He just let himself fall backwards when Luke pushed him oh so gently. And then Luke kissed him, softly, while his warm fingers wormed under Iolaus’s shirt, teasing his sides and sliding up, pushing the shirt up slowly. Too slowly. And then strong thumbs brushed over Iolaus’ nipples and he could not stop the moan that escaped his lips.

Luke cradled Iolaus’ face in his hands, his thumbs gently tracing the lines of Iolaus’ cheekbones. And that should not be erotic, but it set Iolaus whole body on fire, his nerves tingling from the top his head to his toes and he felt his hips jerking up involuntarily. 

“Luke,” he tried to whisper, but it came out as an indecent moan.

“If you had any idea how hot you are,” Luke planted open mouthed kisses over Iolaus’s torso now and it took all Iolaus had to just quiver a little bit instead of shivering violently, “any idea at all, you’d never doubt how much I want you.”

“Uh.” 

Iolaus had tried to say something a little more coherent, but words failed to form on his tongue. He heard Luke chuckle, and tried to swat him, but as soon as his hand connected with Luke’s smooth skin it became a caress, his fingertips tingling as he explored the ridges of Luke’s shoulders. Luke edged closer, his rock-hard erection pressing insistently against Iolaus thigh, as Luke turned his attention to Iolaus’ nipples again.

Iolaus had never known he was that sensitive there. This was slow torture, and he bucked his hips up, his own hands wandering down to grab Luke’s bottom.

And then Luke let his hand brush over the bulge in Iolaus’ pants and a flash of white passed in front of Iolaus eyes, and he felt himself coming, his semen forming an icky wet spot in his pants.

“FUCK!” His voice broke, as he struggled against his urge to cry.

“Iolaus?” Luke blinked owlishly, his hand now resting on Iolaus’ hips. “What’s wrong?” So he had not even noticed.

Iolaus gritted his teeth, and took a deep breath before he could articulate what had just happened. “I came in my pants.”

Iolaus was ready to cry as he avoided Luke’s gaze and looked down at the blanket. This was not how he imagined their second time to go. He could feel Luke still rock hard against him, could still feel his boyfriend panting. 

“Look at me, Iolaus.”

Iolaus shook his head mutely. There was no way he could look up and face Luke’s disappointment now. Or worse, ridicule. Gentle fingers cupped his chin, without forcing him to look up.

“Iolaus.” Luke’s deep voice was even gentler than usual. His fingertips slid over the smooth skin of Iolaus’ cheeks. “Don’t be upset, please.”

But he was. He tried to get away but Luke’s left hand was still on his neck and didn’t let go, even though his grip remained as gently as always.

“Please,” Iolaus choked out. “I’m sorry.”

“There’s nothing to be sorry for.” Luke’s voice was still soft and reassuring. 

“I … You’re still hard!” 

Iolaus felt a tear escaping his eyes. He felt utterly miserable. He had come in his pants, and then he became so upset he couldn’t even take care of his boyfriend’s needs.

“It’s not going to kill me.” A soft kiss was planted on Iolaus’ forehead. “Why don’t you go and change your pants, in the bathroom if you like, and then we can cuddle a bit?”

“All … all right.” Iolaus took a deep breath and nodded. “But … you know … I could …” He made a vague hand motion and finally looked up at Luke, who frowned in concern.

“No. You’re upset now, and I don’t want you to bring me off just because you feel you have to.”

Iolaus pulled a face. Luke was entirely too courteous, but then again, this was a huge part of why he was falling so hard for him. 

“Alright,” he conceded quickly, because he really wanted to get out of his pants. “But, I mean, you could do it yourself? I … it feels wrong if you don’t at least come.” 

“I’ll survive.” Luke squeezed Iolaus’ shoulder.

Iolaus seriously contemplated going to the bathroom to change his pants, but then felt silly for it. Instead he just got up to wiggle out of his pants and quickly cleaned himself with them, before he pulled another one on. When he turned back to the bed, he saw that Luke had closed his eyes and was obviously making an effort to breathe steadily. The sight made his heart plummet to his toes again.

“I’m so sorry, Luke, I …”

Luke opened his eyes again, and rolled over, patting the spot besides him. “Come back here, Iolaus.” 

“But, I feel so bad, and …” 

“Iolaus, come here.” Luke’s frown was almost scary now, so Iolaus hurried to comply and settled back down on the bed, careful not to touch Luke. 

Luke put a gentle hand on Iolaus’ shoulder. “Stop blowing this out of proportion, all right?” 

“But-” 

A strong hand over his mouth stopped him from saying more. “But what? This isn’t a one night stand, we’ll have other opportunities.” 

The retort died on Iolaus’ tongue and he nodded, rubbing his face in Luke’s shoulder. “Next time will be better,” he promised. 

“No pressure.” Luke began to play with Iolaus’ hair. “We’ll just see what happens, I am quite content to just be here with you.”

And after a while, Luke’s gentle attention began to soothe Iolaus and he slowly backed away from the verge of crying. 

He still felt humiliated. It was him who had pressed for sex, and sex now, and then he had been the one to ruin it.

***

Iolaus did not suggest anything intimate the next morning, even though the sight of Luke half naked on his bed made not only his heart flutter. But his exams were nearly there, and he told himself that he had no time to tackle this problem AND his exams at the same time. He felt he got the basic concepts down and with just a bit of luck, he should pass his exams. The ones he had to repeat and the ones he took with his friends.

It was an ordinary Wednesday, and Luke had to go and open his shop anyway. Iolaus was almost disappointed, when Luke acted as if nothing had happened the night before, quite happily sharing breakfast with Hercules and then dropping Iolaus off at the library.

*

Iolaus did not contact Luke all day and ignored the text Luke sent at midday. Luke told himself that this was normal - it was five days until the first exam, Iolaus was nervous and Iolaus was busy.

He told himself that there was no reason to think that his clumsy reaction to Iolaus’ premature ejaculation the day before would make Iolaus back off. Iolaus must know that he had not tried to make it awkward.

He just hadn’t known how to react; he understood how Iolaus felt, he would have been mortified if that happened to him. But to his own surprise, it truly had not mattered much to him that he did not get off, he had been more worried about reassuring Iolaus. 

When he still had not heard from Iolaus after dinner, he sent a cautious text to say good night. To his relief, Iolaus wrote back 10 minutes later.

Thursday came and went, with only two texts from Iolaus. Friday at lunchtime Luke could not stand it anymore. After he had his lonely sandwich at his desk, he pulled out his mobile phone and called Iolaus. 

Iolaus picked up almost immediately.

“Luke? Is something wrong?”

“No - not on my end. Are you all right?”

“Yes, fine, just stressed out. Exams start Monday, and …” there was an awkward chuckle. “I still feel unprepared.”

“You studied so hard.”

“Not enough. Just looking at my desk makes me nervous, to be honest.”

“Do you want to sleep at my place tonight then?”

“Huh?”

“Well, you need to give yourself a break, you know, otherwise you’ll crash and burn. You can come over tonight or tomorrow night, I’ll cook dinner and you can sleep over.” “Will that be all right with Jocelyn and Clary?”

“Sure, why not? I’ll cook, they get to eat, what would they complain about?”

There was a short silence and then Iolaus laughed. “All right, I’ll have to go home first though, to get clothes.” “I can pick you up there if you’d like.”

After the call ended, Luke fretted because this was, once more, more spontaneous than he had been in ages. He wondered if being regarded as dull and middle aged by a teenager, namely Clary, had actually made him dull. In all fairness, his life had become dominated by routine in recent years. Neither he nor Jocelyn were used to spontaneity anymore, apart from the one Clary brought in their life.

Jocelyn also fretted when he called to let her know about the visitor. She worried about the state of the floor, but Luke reassured them both by remarking that Iolaus was probably the last person to realise that a floor was dirty unless there was actual mud.

***

Shoulders hunched, Iolaus waited for Luke to arrive on the bike, while the harsh february winds crept through his beanie and tugged at his coat. A steady drizzle of icy rain fell down, not enough to warrant a fight with an umbrella, but annoying enough. The rattle of the tram nearby disguised the sound of the Harley, so Iolaus was startled when Luke’s bike suddenly stopped next to him, and Luke was opening the face shield of his helmet to smile down at him. And just like Iolaus insides began to hum pleasantly, a feeling that warmed him despite the cold around them. He took the offered helmet and mumbled something that passed as hello. Climbing up on the motorbike with a large backpack was not easy, but he was more practised now.

***

They went to the big supermarket on the outskirts of town first to get some food. Luke always took care of that on Friday, he explained.

Iolaus could not care less. He just enjoyed this break in his unusually studious week and he took the opportunity to load up on sweets.

They had parked the bike in the proper space, right at the back of the parking lot, and out of sight behind a large lorry at the moment. It had been quite empty when they had parked, but when they came back, laden with their groceries, a group of young men was crowded around the bike.

Iolaus recognized the voices. Cradus. And Neolun. (Or, to go by their official names, Carlos and Nathan.) And all the rest of the gang. The sickly smell of the Marijuana they smoked (and sold, if things had not changed) hung in the air. Apparently about to attempt to steal Luke’s bike.

He took one step backwards.

“Let’s call the cops,” he hissed. 

Luke, the idiot, just smiled at him. “Why? Are you that bothered by some hooligans? I’ll make sure they won’t hurt you.”

“I’m not some kind of damsel,” Iolaus hissed back.

“I know.” Luke’s voice was as soothing as ever.

“Good.”

Unfortunately, that last bit was too loud. Cradus turned around and smiled at Iolaus. He looked like a shark about to eat a seal.

“Iolaus. Haven’t seen you around in a while.”

“Cradus.” Iolaus plastered a smile on his face. “How are you? Keeping out of trouble?”

“You know me.” That smile said that Cradus was most definitely not keeping out of trouble.

“Yeah …” 

Cradus was actually backing away from the bike, never having been too keen on big scenes. Though, if his glare at the unfortunate gang member who had obviously been supposed to be on lookout was anything to go by, there would be a massive private scene later.

So that could have been it, had Neolun not always been jealous of Iolaus. They may only have been 16 by the time Iolaus had left the group, but the nasty smile on Neolun’s face said his resentment was as deep as ever.

“Thinking of joining again, are you, Iolaus?”

Cradus, more aware that Luke was a stranger to them, tightened his smile.“Aren’t you formal, Neolun, talking about joining and all that. This is just our old neighbour.” Neolun didn’t get the hint, his eyes moved between Luke and Iolaus. “Can’t talk in front of your boyfriend, Iolaus?”

Iolaus straightened. He may not be as strong as Luke, but he was no coward.

“I can talk. I just don’t want to talk to you, Neolun.”

“Too good for us, are ya?” Neolun cracked a fist and seized up Luke. “This bike yours?”

“As a matter of fact, it is.” Luke seemed completely unperturbed, though Iolaus, standing close to him, noticed that he was tensing up ever so slightly. 

“A bit wasted on a faggot, isn’t it. That’s a bike for real men.”

“I agree.” Luke’s smile morphed into a smirk. “Which is why it is mine, and not yours.”

Neolun spat on the ground. “You’re no man. Come on, you want us to show you what real men are?” 

He gestured at the thugs behind him, who all seemed to be unsure of what was going on. 

Luke sighed. “Look, I really don’t want a fight.”

Before Neolun could do anything, Iolaus hastily interjected.“He took on three guys and beat them. That’s how we met. He didn’t even get a scratch.” 

Cradus seized Luke up and then shrugged.

“I don’t get what this is about anyway. Neolun?”

Reluctantly, and as if pulled by strings, Neolun turned to his leader.“Yes?”

Cradus still wore his shark smile.“Why did you threaten to take the bike of Iolaus’ friend and beat him up?” 

“I …” Neolun spat. “They’re faggots? He may be able to take out three guys, but-”

“But we’ll draw the attention of security around here, is that it, you dumbass?” 

Neolun looked as if he was actually thinking about it, until Cradus hit the back of his head.

“Let’s scramble.” He levelled a smile at Iolaus. “Nice to see you again, Iolaus.”

Iolaus forced a smile. “Likewise. See you around.” 

Or not. 

Iolaus kept quiet as they watched his old gang amble away, making a point of walking slowly to indicate that if they wanted, they could totally have won. They did not talk as they put the groceries in the box on Luke’s bike and drove off.

*

15 minutes later Iolaus entered Luke’s home for the second time. His heart was beating just as fast as the last time. The fact that Luke acted like a good host and took his coat to hang it up in the wardrobe and spread his damp beanie out on the dresser in the hallway did not help that at all.

“I’m sorry,” Iolaus said, as soon as Luke had turned towards him. “Cradus and me grew up in the same place, we sort of got into trouble together ever since primary school. I got busted when we blew up the janitor’s mailbox at school, but I didn’t grass them out, so Cradus and Neolun weren’t caught. I got kicked out of school, we got kicked out of our flat, as our landlord was friends with the janitor, so we moved and I met Hercules at the new school and well. I haven’t been in much trouble since, I promise! Only with Ares.”

Luke’s hazel eyes were full of concern as he caressed Iolaus’ face with his thumb.

“Iolaus, do you think that your former association with Cradus might scare me off?”

“Well … first you rescue me from Ares and his buddies, then I lied to you about my age, then I came too quickly, then we ran into Cradus and the gang, I’m not selling myself very well, am I?”

Iolaus was worrying his lower lip and he averted his eyes. Still, he did not resist when Luke pulled him into a hug and then made him sit down at the kitchen table.

“I’ll make you a tea. We’ll need to talk later.” He held up his hands, when Iolaus’ head shot up. “Not because you’re right about this ‘not selling yourself well’ crap. There are just some things you need to know.”

He did not elaborate further, as they both froze when they heard the key turn in the lock and a moment later both Jocelyn and Clary called out from the hallway.

*

Despite the worry fermenting in his stomach, Luke felt joy bubbling up inside him whenever Iolaus smiled and those devilish dimples appeared. It was good to see him joke with Jocelyn, their earlier encounter with his old gang almost forgotten.

Luke hadn’t forgotten. And he realised that there were things about his own past Iolaus needed to know.

Jocelyn seemed to sense that Luke needed some privacy with Luke, so after Clary had retreated to her room after dinner, a bit too quickly, she announced that she would go and paint in her studio.

Luke took Iolaus to the living room, with a cup of tea. Coward that he was, he did not tackle the conversation he needed to have with Iolaus but switched on the TV. They agreed on a film on Netflix and Iolaus became more relaxed as they sat together on the old, comfy couch, eventually relaxing against Luke’s side.

When the credit rolled, Luke turned his face to press a quick kiss in Iolaus’ hair. And when he looked up again, Clary was standing in the living room, staring at them. 

“Luke?” she asked tentatively, blushing. Luke quickly took his arm off Iolaus, feeling his own face heating up as well, even though they hadn’t done anything.

“What is it, Clary?” “I just … I didn’t … I’m sorry.” “You’re fine.” Luke could feel Iolaus trying to edge away surreptitiously, something he really hadn’t mastered. “Did you need something?”

Clary twiddled with her fingers. “Mum’s away tomorrow night and she said I could only go to Jace’s party tomorrow if you could pick me up there.”

Jace. Neither Jocelyn nor Luke liked the young man very much. That’s why Clary was never allowed to stay overnight.

“Sure, but before one, alright? I’m not going to stay up later than that.”

Clary grimaced and Luke could feel the time honoured whine of teenagers everywhere approaching, so he quickly spoke before she could.

“I don’t care whose parents let whom stay much later. You’ll come home before one or you’re not going at all.” 

“Fine.”

The good thing about never having had a relationship with Jocelyn was that Clary had not once tried to go for ‘you’re not my dad.’ Instead, she turned on her heels now and stalked to the kitchen. Luke turned to Iolaus, whose eyes had widened.

“Is she always this grateful?” he whispered. 

“She’s a teenager,” Luke whispered back. “What do you expect?” 

Iolaus frowned. “I guess. So you’ll just wait around tomorrow for her to call?” 

“Well.” Luke put his arm around Iolaus again and pulled him closer. “She won’t call until five to one, and Jocelyn will be at some gallery cocktail party thing, so if you want to stay over tomorrow again ….” 

Iolaus dimples appeared quick as lightning. “We’ve got the whole place to ourselves?” 

“Maybe as a reward if you manage to study all day.” 

Iolaus laughed and pressed closer.

Clary’s voice interrupted them. She stood in the door again, a glass of juice in her hand. 

“Can’t you like … go to your bedroom if you want to make out?” 

Luke turned to glare at her. “We’re not doing anything, Clary.” 

“So if I did that with Jace …” 

“If you were sitting in a public area with Jace having his arm loosely around your waist,” Luke gestured at the way he was holding Iolaus very loosely, while feeling very silly, “neither I nor your mum would have any problem with that.” 

“We wouldn’t have any problem with what?” 

Of course that was the moment Jocelyn popped into the living room too, in her pyjamas. He could feel Iolaus tensing next to him. 

“Her sitting very harmlessly in public with Jace, just like I’m sitting here with Iolaus,” he said bluntly.

Jocelyn look at him and a smile was tugging at her lips. “No problem at all, dear. Do any of you want a cup of tea? Iolaus?”

“I’m good, ta.” Iolaus edged a bit further away from Luke.

Clary was blushing and to be fair to the girl, she seemed to realise now how rude she had been.

“Sorry Iolaus.” 

“You better go to bed,” Jocelyn suggested. “It’s late and somebody needs to catch up on her homework.” 

“Mum!”

But Clary let herself be pushed out of the room by her mother, and Luke offered Iolaus a hand to pull him up, remarking: “We better get some sleep too.”

It really was about time that Iolaus’ stayed over at his place. Luke smiled when he watched Iolaus settling down on his bed. It felt surprisingly right to have Iolaus there, as a part of his life. When Iolaus picked up a pillow and sniffed at it, he had to laugh.

“What are you doing?” 

“The bed smells of you,” Iolaus informed him happily, flashing his deep dimples again, his earlier insecurity apparently forgotten. 

“It’s my bed.” Luke slipped in next to Iolaus and drew him closer. “I’m sorry about Clary earlier … she’s grown up with me and Jocelyn and I think it took her a long time to realise we’re not married or otherwise together, kids don’t really think of adults as in relationships anyway. The reality of seeing me with someone else is difficult for her. More than I expected.” 

“It’s still a bit weird to me that a teenager thinks of you as a sort of dad.” 

“Occasionally it still is to me.” Luke admitted. “Jocelyn was only 19 when Clary was born. As I said, I was 22 when they came to live with me, Clary was three. And suddenly there was this little child looking to me to provide for her and I didn’t even know where to go from there, fresh out of jail. You grow into the role.” 

Iolaus sat up straight: “Fresh out from WHERE?” 

Luke winced. “See, that is what I wanted to talk about. Remember I told you that I used to do bad stuff? Shortly after we met?” 

Iolaus’ face told him that he had forgotten that. Luke bit his own lips now, looking up at the ceiling. He should clear away the spider webs at some point. 

“When I was your age,” he ignored the way Iolaus’ flinched at that phrase, “I was getting in way more trouble than being greeted like an old friend by a thieving bully. Or being beaten up by a small-scale drug dealer for interfering with his business. How do you think I learnt to beat up three guys at once?” 

“I …” Iolaus peered up to scrutinise Luke’s face. “I had wondered.”

“Nowadays I keep it up with Krav Magna and Thai boxing, but you can’t pull off this kind of thing in practice without, you know, practice. I …” 

He paused.

“Let me try to keep this short. My ex-boyfriend and I, we met as kids, and we always got into trouble. Starting with shoplifting and stuff, and well, we somehow fell into the world of illegal gambling, betting and illegal racing. I had started stealing my father’s bike when I was 13, and by the time we were 18, I started winning races, which gave us enough of an in to start organizing the races and for us to muscle our way to become the top bookies in that world. We built our little gang, and I lost many fights before I started to learn how to take on more than one opponent at a time. So when somebody could not pay up, I was the one Valentine sent to beat them up. I don’t want to go into detail, but … I am not talking about roughing people up a little bit.” He felt his heart sink when Iolaus inched away. “It was never something I enjoyed, I promise. I felt it was necessary, but I never … I never took pleasure in hurting people, I swear!”

He realised he started to ramble, and really, was that much of a defense? Iolaus would not be interested in hearing his excuses. “Anyway, I was caught when I was 22, but they couldn’t pin down more than two cases of assault and one illegal race, so I only spent a couple of months in jail, and was put on probation. I broke my ties with Valentine and not long after that, Jocelyn showed up with Clary and they needed help. I haven’t done anything strictly illegal since then, I swear.” 

“Define not strictly illegal?” Iolaus sounded almost timid. 

“I’m still not always keeping the speed limit. And while everyone I have beaten up since then was in self-defence or in defence of somebody else, I never waited around for police to show up. And I possibly went down harder on some people than necessary. Like your friend Ares.” 

“Have you ever killed anyone?” 

“No.” Luke was relieved he could at least say that. “I never killed anyone. I put a few people in the hospital, but no permanent injuries and I certainly never killed anyone. But …” He closed his eyes to stop tears from falling out. “I know Valentine did. He never told me, not outright, but … a couple of people who owed us money, they disappeared. The others got the message. That’s when I started to think of getting out, but … I was addicted to the racing, to be honest, and it was all I knew. I was afraid of Valentine too, what he would do if I tried to quit. When the police caught me, part of me was relieved. It was just after a race, two guys I had beaten up the day before, they were in hospital and they confessed, they pointed them to where we raced … I could have escaped if I really wanted to, the police would have been able to keep up with me, but I guess … I wanted it to be over.”

He hadn’t even realised that he had turned away from Iolaus while he was confessing his old sins, until he felt two surprisingly strong arms winding around his middle. Iolaus let his forehead rest against Luke’s neck. For a while they were just laying like that, then he heard Iolaus chuckle dryly. 

“You’re not really worried that you scared me away, are you?” 

“You were shocked,” Luke pointed out. 

“Yes …” Iolaus arms tightened. “But I believe you when you say that you haven’t done anything like that for 13 years. That’s a long time.” 

“Sometimes it doesn’t feel that long.” 

Iolaus nodded. “Today it felt a bit like yesterday that I got in trouble with Cradus and Neolun.” 

“Exactly.” 

They were silent for a little longer, then Iolaus spoke up again. “So … what happened to Valentine?”

“I.” Luke rubbed his hands. “He got caught not long after me. I didn’t rat him out, as I should have, but they were lucky enough to catch him in the act. He got a few years in jail for running an illegal betting ring, and for organizing illegal races. When he got out, he continued, and was caught again, that time they put him away for longer, of course. He got out of jail again last year … he claims he’s legit now and keeping out of trouble, but …” He swallowed. “That’s something else you need to know, before things become more serious.” 

He could feel Iolaus’ arms loosening and his heart sank. “Valentine, my ex-boyfriend, is Clary’s father.” 

“He … he what???” 

“Our relationship was … well it was not healthy. We were together on and off for the 6 years … sometimes I broke it off, when I could not take his cheating anymore, but mostly it was him. He left me for Jocelyn, she was racing too back then, when we were 18, and then Jocelyn got pregnant … Clary was born when we were all 19. Of course, Valentine didn’t want to care for a small child, so he came back to me, leaving Jocelyn to fend on her own. She quit racing then, and we lost touch with her.”

Iolaus next question surprised Luke: “Is he in touch with her now?” 

“No, currently there’s still a restraining order in place which forbids him to approach Clary, Jocelyn or me, he probably knows our address but he’s not allowed to get closer than 1 kilometre. Or get closer than 1 kilometre to Clary’s school.” 

“But?” 

“He’s challenging that. He argues that he’s been out of jail for a year, that he hasn’t been in any trouble and that he regrets the way he neglected Clary when she was a baby, but that he wants to build a relationship with his daughter now.” 

“Oh.” 

“Yeah. Clary is a bit torn … I don’t have any say in the matter, obviously, but I worry. Jocelyn is eaten up by it, she wants Clary to be free from his influence, but she’s 16, so her wishes matter quite a bit too.” 

“They should.” 

“Yeah. Well …” Luke shifted a little, turning around to face Iolaus. “Sorry to unload this all on you shortly before your exams.” 

“’s fine.” Iolaus shrugged. But the tone of his voice was not reassuring to Luke. 

He could tell that he had given Iolaus much to think about. Maybe too much.

Iolaus would realise that far from Luke being too good for Iolaus, Iolaus was way too good for Luke.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope I did not frighten anyone off - I discussed this quite a bit with Lakritzwolf, because I was worried that Luke's past might be too much, but on the other hand, I have written myself into a bit of corner there. No one can take out three guys with ease without actual practice and in a country such as the one I described so far (that is, sort of Switzerland) you only get that by a criminal past.


End file.
